


Staring Into The Blue

by Lananiuska



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-01-15 00:14:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 141,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21244331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lananiuska/pseuds/Lananiuska
Summary: In the worse situation ever, they have nothing but each other.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so this is an old story of mine that I'm uploading here. It's already finished so I'll do my best to put around five chapters each night until it's all here. Hope you enjoy!

"Sorry, but your flight has been cancelled."

Regina Mills heard the words just fine, but it took a while for her brain to register them and comprehend their true meaning, and when they finally sank in, she found herself face to face with the dilemma they represented.

Another cancelled flight was not only an inconvenience, but it was the last straw in a series of events that has been accumulating over the last couple of days and as she stood there, looking at the woman at the other side of the counter she could start to feel her anger starting to rise up from her stomach and settle right on her temples.

She could even feel a pressure pushing behind her eyes and she had to take a deep breath to take hold of herself.

Once she believed to be in control of her displeasure she hung up her cell phone, not even bothering to warn the person at the other end that the conversation is done. She just focused all her attention on the woman who so diligently broke the news for to her.

Maybe she didn't hear well after all… or maybe her words got mingled with that of her secretary because there was no way the airline cancelled her flight.

Not again…

Pushing her Gucci sunglasses up her face, she allowed them to rest at the top of her head and then she blinked two times before speaking.

"What do you mean it got cancelled? That's not possible." A chuckle escaped her lips but it was not an amused chuckle, it bordered more on annoyance. "I need to take that plane now."

The woman didn't even bat an eyelash; her countenance remained unperturbed as her fingers keep working the keyboard. "It got cancelled due to weather conditions." Her tone was monotonous, bored. "I have another flight available to that destination for tomorrow at two in the afternoon if you are interested."

"No, no, no… you don't get it. I can't wait until tomorrow afternoon to take another flight. I need to be in there by tomorrow morning." Her voice rose a little even though she said that through clenched teeth.

But the woman didn't seem impressed by her tone and by the look on her face she didn't even care about her urge to board that plane; and really, why should she? She was not the one that got screwed by the airline.

"I can't believe this!" Regina said to no one in particular.

The truth was that she was already running on a tight schedule and there was no way she could wait until the following day to take a teen hours flight headed to the other side of the continent, there was just no way.

Waiting was not acceptable.

As she tried to think on what to do, her phone started to ring, interrupting her thoughts with instant speed. She didn't have to look to know who it was so she just ignored it.

"Listen," She started to say before taking in a deep breath. While doing so she tried to keep the exasperation off her voice but she actually failed miserably in her attempt. "Is there any other option other than tomorrow?"

With the same dull expression she has been sporting since the moment Regina walked to the counter, the woman just stared at her indifferently. "We do have an independent line of private jets that could take you to there today. It would cost you more though and we are not responsible for any mishap."

At the woman's words, Regina almost chuckled, almost. Money was not an inconvenient for her… time was, and she already wasted enough of it.

Relaxing a little, she took out one of her credit cards and gave it to the woman. "How soon will this jet leave?"

"I'll contact the crew so they can refuel and make preparations for the take-off. I say an hour, maybe less."

Somehow that didn't sound like soon enough, but one hour was better than the next day. So yes, it could have been a lot worse because not making it to London would mean loosing re-election and that was something her family couldn't afford or even tolerate.

"Are you going to answer that or are we going to dance to it?"

Raising an eyebrow, Regina ventured to glance over at the man who was now standing by her side. She knew who it was even before looking. She would recognize that annoyingly merry voice and particular accent anywhere.

"Mr. Locksley." She said in a flat tone, letting him know that she was anything but thrilled with his presence.

Yes, Robin Locksley. When she was informed by her secretary that the man was going to join her during the overseas trip, she immediately got annoyed. For the last few months he has been all over town as if he owned the entire place, making inquiries, checking the town's books and even monitoring the accounts and the funds available.

He was like a plague, he was nosing in everywhere and that he was also going to watch her every move while trying to close a business deal that was actually going to benefit Storybrooke's economy in a way it has never been done before pissed her off.

As an auditor and investigator, he apparently needed to be there in case there was an embezzlement of public funds.

"So you decided to show up." She said, making point of his tardiness while silencing her phone. "How considerate of you to finally make it."

He actually chuckled at what she said, leaning into the counter and laying his hands on top of it to support his weight. "You'll have to forgive me being late Madame Mayor, I think there was a bit of miscommunication between your office and me. You'll see, your staff apparently forgot to inform me that you were going to flight to the other side of the world in an official trip nonetheless. I came as soon as I could."

Regina shot him a cold glare and said nothing.

"So a private jet…."

Shifting her weight to her left foot, Regina fought hard against the urge of snarling her lips. "I put it on my personal credit card, do you need to check that too?"

He smirked, his eyes shining with something close to amusement. "Not really. I do however hope you don't mind me tagging along."

Humming, she pushed her cheek with the tip of her tongue. She did mind, and a lot, but because she wasn't going to let him know she just replied in her usual flat tone. "Of course not. As you probably corroborated during all your intensive… audits, my office has nothing to hide." With that said, she focused on the papers she needed to sign to rent the jet and tried to ignore his eyes on her as he lurked around.

Once done, she put the pen down and turned around, walking to the small waiting room area to wait until they would be called to board the jet once and for all.

XxXxXx

She woke up startled and disoriented; a feeling she would always get whenever she would awaken anywhere that wasn't her own big comfy bed. Not that waking up in strange places would happen often, but on those rare occasions it was always the same.

Clearing her throat, she blinked a couple of times, trying to gather up the last memories she had before getting caught in the arms of Morpheus.

She couldn't get much out of her still drowsy brain though. The last thing she remembered was doing some online shopping through her laptop and then nothing. That much she remembered, but she couldn't for the life of her remember what she was shopping or how long she has been out.

It was probably something for Henry and at the memory of her son she smiled.

Rubbing the sleep off of her eyes, Regina took a look at her laptop and noticed that the monitor was just a black canvas that mocked her by showing her own reflection. The battery probably died when she dozed off.

No longer smiling, she sighed while gabbing her cell phone with the intention checking the hour, but when she tried to turn it on she saw that it died too.

"Great." That was exactly what she needed, no laptop and no cell phone… and when she looked down to her wrist she noticed that her watch was not working either.

Despite her usual practical mind, she frowned at all those coincidences, hoping they were not flying over the equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle because the plane crashing would be the ultimate inconvenience.

Discarding that thought as ridiculous and sure that Henry's imagination was rubbing on her, she took a look out the window pane and through it she saw nothing but blackness. It was the same panorama she got before falling asleep.

"Hmm," She mumbled under her breath. She just hoped they were close to their destination already because there were a few calls she needed to make.

Getting up to her feet, she looked around, taking a few steps in search for someone in the crew who could fill her in as of why none of her devices were working.

It was as she scanned her surroundings when she spotted Robin.

His eyes were closed while his head rested casually against the back of the seat, making his face look relax and tranquil. That right there was a trait one would rarely see in him because he was usually smiling or flashing one of his very annoying smirks and for some reason that caught her attention.

Now, she couldn't tell from where she was if he was sleeping or not; he probably was and for that reason she allowed herself to look at him a while longer.

She has never really taken the time to inspect the man that came to investigate her office, but now that she could she noticed how his beard covered a strong jaw that was firmly set as he slept and that he was starting to get a few gray hairs already.

It made her wonder how old he was… but before she could take a guess, the floor beneath her feet suddenly moved and she couldn't help but to gasp in surprise, taking a quick hold on the edge of the seat.

Now, if there was something she would take pride in, it was in how she always managed to act composed while in public, but in that moment she couldn't help but to look around with worry in her eyes. It was just that she hadn't expected the plane to take such a quick descend.

If it wasn't because she managed to hold onto something, she would have probably ended up sprawled on the floor.

With her heart beating ridiculously fast inside her chest, she looked over to where a very awake Robin was sitting; he has taken off his iPhone's headphones and was now looking around the cabin.

He wasn't looking at her and trying to compose herself before he would, she licked her lips and straightened up.

Then, using one of her hands to run it through her black hair, the Mayor began to prepare mentally with the task of moving her glued feet off the floor. It was as she was starting to take that first step when the plane took a quicker descend into nothingness, too violent to give her time to think and this time she was not able to hold onto anything. No, this time she ended up down on her knees… her pride hurting more than the fall.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She snapped while attempting to get up to her feet. It wasn't an easy task, because even when the plane was no longer free-falling, it was shaking.

Biting hard on her lips and trying to look as graceful as anyone in her situation could, she looked at him. She was half expecting to see him smirking down at her, but when her eyes found his she realized that he was not. He actually had a very serious expression on his face.

He was even offering her a hand, a hand that despite herself she took, allowing him to help her up to the chair next to his.

"What's going on here?" He asked, she said nothing.

Right on cue, the flight attendant came walking towards them. She was smiling and that kind of alleviated some of her worries.

"I'm going to need you to fasten your seatbelts. We are experience some turbulence but nothing to worry about, it will be over soon."

Regina did as she was told, still unable to utter a word. By then the plane was violently shaking and even though the crew member's words reassured her a little, she really didn't like what was going on.

Refusing to voice out or even show her uneasiness, her eyes followed the young flight attendant as she walked to the back of the plane to sit in one of the chairs over there. She fastened her own seatbelt and remained there…

"This is really some turbulence, uh?" Robin said but since she was not in the mood for chit chatting, she didn't reply.

She just sat there. Then, all of a sudden, a deafening noise drilled into her brain, making her cringe in response. The noise was so intense that it felt as if her head was about to explode.

Pushing her head back into the seat, she held hard to her chair and in that precise moment, as if made out of paper, she watched in horror as a the jet started to crack… and no long after that first crack it just broke, the plane broke in half while in midair. The section where the woman who just told them not to worry about the turbulence was sitting disappearing into the blackness of the night.

"Oh My God!" Regina almost yelled. She was pretty sure that she was now in full panic mode so she closed her eyes and gripped the edge of the seat with all her strength, feeling the force of the wind hit her hard in the face.

'This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening! I'm still asleep, this is a nightmare and the plane did not just break in two!' She chanted in her mind over and over again.

But it did happen, she saw it with her own eyes… she saw a woman get swallowed through the darkness of the night never to be seen again.

While her brain went into overdrive, she felt someone grabbing her face and yank it to the side. She didn't want to open her eyes to see who was touching her, she was too busy wondering if she was going to die of a heart attack before hitting land… or ocean, whatever was coming.

God… she was never going to see Henry again… that right there really got to her. Not because of what could happen to her, but because the thought of leaving her son all alone in this world terrified her.

Oh but he wasn't going to be alone… he had Emma and even though that was better than the boy being with her own mother, she didn't like it.

"Regina, look at me!"

Swallowing on dry, she opened her eyes at the sound of her name, and once she opened them she found herself lost into a pair of blue eyes that were staring at her.

Could he see the terror reflected in her eyes? Did it matter that she finally showed weakness in the verge of dying?

She heard him saying something, something about the seatbelt. She couldn't make out what it was but then she felt him unbuckling it and she wondered what the hell he was doing.

She wanted to yell at him not to do that, but she was practically petrified… staring into the blue of his eyes.

And it was as she was staring into those blues that she felt something hit her in the head, almost knocking her out with the force of the impact...

It hurt and everything around her started to become a fuzzy mess. She could only feel a killer pain in her head… and water, her feet were getting wet… and her knees. Why where her knees wet?

"Look at me, Regina, stay with me."

Looking up to him, she felt water raising up to her waist and his hands on her face… her head hurt… and his face, his face was fading right before her eyes… she tried to hold on, but then there was nothing...


	2. Chapter 2

_'Meet me, Jesus, meet me. Meet me in the middle of the air. If my wings should fail me, Lord, please meet me with another pair.'_

The words kept dancing in her head; strange words, faint words, dull words… they made no sense. They kept coming at her, each syllable piercing her brain with fierce intensity, menacing to split her head in two.

She wanted them to stop.

The rational part inside of her that hasn't died yet recognized some of those words as extracts of something bigger… something she's heard before. Was it a prayer? She could 't quite grasp their meaning.

"Regina..."

With great effort she slightly turned her head, trying to follow the source of the new sound. It was faint like the other ones, but this one didn't come from inside her head. It came from outside… as if someone was calling to her.

"Come on, look at me."

Doing her best to ignore the searing pain in her head, Regina opened her eyes… and yet she saw nothing. There was a black veil in front of her eyes that wasn't letting her see anything. For a moment she wondered if she opened them in the first place.

Feeling disoriented, she closed her eyes again for a few seconds only to then blink them open… but it was in vain, she still couldn't see anything.

It didn't feel right, actually it all felt all kinds of wrong.

A series of flashbacks invaded her mind, mingling themselves with the strange words that haven't ceased tormenting her, causing a bigger pain in her head that made her groan out loud in disapproval. But she remembered now, full reality blew up in her face as she remembered.

She remembered the plane breaking apart in mid-air and then falling. There was a woman who got swallowed into the darkness and then something hitting her head.

Feeling something close to panic creep inside of her with ridiculous speed, the raven haired woman tried to jerk from whatever was holding her still, but as soon as her battle for freedom began she felt the hold getting tighter, imprisoning her.

"What…?"

"Hey, hey... listen." The voice was still faint, but she recognized it just fine.

"Locksley?" She mumbled the words half afraid she imagined them. "I… I can't see you." She placed her hands against what she believed to be his shoulders, realizing for the first time that her feet were not touching the ground… in fact, they were not touching anything.

At the strangeness of it all, she blinked her eyes a couple of times, trying to understand what the hell was happening. There was water up to her chest and the only thing that was holding her up were Robin's arms around her waist.

"What-." She began saying, her mind swirling around trying to make sense of everything. But as much as she tried to, she realized that her mind would come up in blank, the only one thing that kept going in to put a salt of uncertainty in her brain was the fact that she couldn't see anything.

She couldn't even see Robin, she could feel him pressed against her, she could even feel him breathing but she couldn't see him.

"I can't see anything." She said again… feeling more disoriented than before.

As she said that, his fingers found their way to her face. They were cold as they touched tentatively, but they still provided an odd sense of comfort that she couldn't quite comprehend. "

"I'm here, it's ok… I think the power went off."

Nodding, she released a breath she didn't even realize she was holding, glad that the fact that she couldn't see wasn't because the blow to her head left her blind.

But then it hit her. They were still inside the plane and the water could only mean that they crashed into the ocean.

"We won't make it out of here." She said, once again feeling an awful sense of panic take hold of every fiber of her being.

"Of course we will…" He said in his thick accent and because she could feel it against her face she knew that he puffed the answer. "We will so I need you to listen carefully to what I'm going to say, can you do that?"

She nodded, half annoyed at the way he was ordering her around and treating her like a damn child. But because she knew she had no other option as she just didn't know what else to do, she closed her eyes and waited for him to tell her whatever he was going to say.

"Are you listening to me, Regina?" He tightened his hold on her, bringing them closer than before.

"Yes!" She blurted out, her inability to see and his tone getting the best of her. She also didn't like how he casually decided they were familiar enough for him to call her by her first name.

But because of the situation, she guessed it was fine. They were not at her office but inside a plane that crashed into the ocean in the middle of the night so yes, she was going to give him a pass for that.

"Alright, so listen carefully because we don't have much time. We crashed into the ocean. I think the cabin turned upside down in the water, trapping us in it. We can't stay here because soon enough it will drag us to the bottom of the ocean with it. Now, there is an opening right where the plane ripped, but to exit through it we need to swim our way to it.

Oh no…no, no, no! She chanted inside her head.

"So this is what we are going to do, I want you to swim very close to this," He took her hand in his and placed it against a wall or something similar. "And all the way down until you find the opening I just told you. Once you reach it, go to the other side and swim to the surface. Can you do that?"

"I don't… I don't know." She admitted in a broken whisper. She has never been good at swimming or holding her breath too long underwater.

"There is no choice on the matter, Regina, you either try it or drown here."

His tone was exasperated; it only fired something inside of her that was very close to anger. "Then why do you ask if you…"

"Hey! I need you to focus here." His fingers were back to her face and she snapped her mouth shut. He was right, she would never admit it out loud but there was sense on his reasoning.

Going out meant being a step closer to Henry and that was the only motivation she needed. She wasn't going to leave the boy motherless, hell no.

"Alright then... I'll do it." If not then at least she would die trying.

"Very well then, because you'll go first, I will follow close behind." He let go of her, and for a slight moment of blind panic she felt the urge to cling to him again.

Of course she didn't do it.

"I'll go first." She said under her breath, trying to cope with it.

"So, on the count of three?"

At his words, she took a deep breath. "Ok." She could do it; it wasn't a big plane, hell! It wasn't even a plane, just a jet… and a small one. Now ripped in two…

"1…"

The opening should be near enough for her to reach it without problems, it was going to be easy.

"2…"

She just needed to concentrate on her breathing.

"3"

She submerged, dreading the way the cold water embraced her whole and swallowed her into its mysterious darkness.

She swam her way down, her eyes stinging because even when she couldn't see a thing she couldn't manage to keep them close.

Going forward, she decided that she didn't like anything of what was happening; it was too quiet down there, there was a calmness that felt too eerie for her liking and that she did not like. It was like this, the only sound she could register was the beating of her own heart. It was beating frantically and she was afraid that it was going to burst into a million pieces inside her chest.

But even though those were the thoughts in her mind, she kept swimming, ignoring everything… even the way her lungs were already protesting the lack of oxygen.

Trying to hurry, she finally reached the opening she was looking for and feeling around, she took a hold at the edge of the twisted metal and crossed to the other side.

Or so she hoped, because if she didn't then she was already making her way back into the cabin. A cabin that by now could be completely submerged underwater for all she knew.

Trying not to think about that, she began the ascent that would hopefully take her to the surface; by then her lungs were screaming in pain, sending a bolt of discomfort right into her chest.

It was a very distressing feeling, because as much as she kept swimming upward she still wouldn't reach the surface. She kicked and swam and swallowed a ton of water and still nothing.

In this new situation, her headache just passed to be a slight inconvenience, the icy fingers of the black water tightening around her throat was the only thing her mind could worry about now.

But then, when all hope was gone and her hold on life was disintegrating through her fingers, her head broke to the surface and a cool breeze welcomed her outside.

She managed to take a deep breath somewhere in between a fit of coughing… the air filling her lungs sweet and comforting.

Once she was somehow composed, she took a look around, relieved with the fact that she could already see. The sky was a black, starry canopy above her, the face of the moon providing the only illumination to the desolation that surrounded her.

She took it all in, she was in the middle of a big, vast nothingness. There was just water all around her and what she assumed were broken pieces of the jet floating everywhere.

But there was no Robin.

Swirling around, she searched for any sign of him… and still nothing.

"Mr. Locksley?" She called out while struggling to maintain herself floating. She called for him hoping to see his head poking out of the water, but such thing didn't happen.

Starting to feel a wave of desperation eating a hole in the pit of her stomach, she swirled once more. He was nowhere to be found and she was about to start calling for him when as if in cue his head broke to the surface.

Regarding their dire situation, she let out a sigh of relief as soon as she saw him because even though he wasn't by far her favorite person and despite the fact that she hated how he was set to make her days in office a living hell, she wouldn't want him to die there. Actually the sight of him wiping water off his eyes made her feel somehow content.

After all, she wasn't as cold hearted as everyone thought her to be. Proud to a fault? Most of the time, but cruel and vile never.

But being glad about Robin making it out took her to another matter… what about the pilot? Where was he?

"You ok there?"

He took her out of her thoughts with his words and looking at him in disbelieve, her lips curled upward, she couldn't help it. Was that a serious question?

"The plane I was in broke in mid-flight and crashed, now I'm adrift in the middle of the ocean so what do you think?" Her tone came off as curtly, but besides flat and disinterested, that was basically the only tone she would use when addressing him.

"Well. I see you are still the same you. And here I was hoping somehow you emerged a little less haughty." As he said that, he turned around to swim towards a big-white floating object that looked suspiciously like one of the jet's wings. Once there he rested half of his body on top of it and tested it. "It seems like this can hold us."

Pursing her lips and already tired of keeping her head above the surface, Regina swallowed on dry. Robin was right as it looked strong enough and well, it was definitely better than fighting to maintain herself afloat so she decided to ignore his previous comment and swim to it as well.

Survival was what she needed to set her mind into.

Now, the wing… or what was left of the jet was big enough for both of them. Maybe not to climb on top of it, but it looked like it could support at least half their bodies afloat.

That was why without saying a word she went to it and rested against it. Her back was to Robin so she couldn't see what he was up to, the only thing she knew was that the surface was rough enough to scratch her skin as she laid on it.

"Don't fall asleep," He commanded after a long period of silence.

"Why not?" She did not intend to, but she has never taken it well when people ordered her around.

"Well… where can I start? First, you took a nasty blow to the head and everybody knows that falling asleep is not exactly the sharpest thing to do after such a bump; second, you could roll over and fall into the ocean where you could drown or be eaten by a shark or whatever creature lurks around; third… I don't need a third! The first two are valid enough for you to comprehend. Come on Madame Mayor, we both know you know better than that."

Rolling her eyes and biting down a comeback to that as she didn't feel like engaging into a back and forth bickering contest, she submerged her hand into the water, watching it disappear in its blackness.

It was still dark, the ocean a mere reflection of the night that watched over them.

"So what's the last movie you saw?" He asked casually, as if they where friends or… anywhere but there.

"What?" She spat.

"You know, movies… also known as films, they usually come to theaters first and then get release on DVD."

"I know what a movie is, but thanks for the lesson in the matter." Her voice dripped sarcasm and her eyes rolled again.

"So?"

Taking in a deep breath, she cleared her throat. She knew that he was trying to form a civil conversation or maybe distract her mind, but she didn't feel like humoring him.

Just because they survived a freak accident together didn't mean she had to all of a sudden be friendly to the man who was conducting an investigation on her and all the work she has accomplished as Mayor of Storybrooke.

"I don't remember." She finally said. "I've been busy."

"Too busy to watch a movie? Well that is actually quite… unfortunate."

Regina shrugged even though he couldn't see it. Whatever opinion he could have about her life wasn't relevant.

As soon as they would be rescued, she was going back to her life and hopefully, everyone would realize her office wasn't involved in anything illicit and that would be the last of Locksley she would had to see so no, what he thought did not matter.

"What about music, do you like music or you are too busy to listen to it too?"

Even if it was faint, she detected amusement in his voice and that made her turn to him. "You are making fun of me."

"No, I am most certainty not."

After that little exchange, they fell again into a comfortable silence and Regina started to think that what was happening was kind of surreal. Crashing down in the open sea was the kind of thing that happened in B movies and crappy novels and definitely not the kind of stuff that happened in real life… at least not in hers.

There was a method in her everyday life and this was certainly far from it. She liked routines, she found comfort in them and being out there without a clear idea of what happened next made her feel kind of lost.

It was probably because of that sense of uncertainty that she did something out of character, she talked to Robin.

"Locksley?"

"Uh?"

"Do you think they are looking for us?"

"Of course they are, before the sun comes up we are going to hear a helicopter flying by and then we are going to see men in cool blue uniforms climbing down a rope to rescue us."

She nodded, hoping that he was right. She was already feeling too damn cold in there and she wanted to go back to firm land. The sooner the better, she didn't want the news of the crash to go public while she was still out there because Henry may hear it and think the worse.

"I wish they would hurry up." She said as an afterthought before closing her eyes, suddenly she was feeling very tired. "Do you really think there are sharks in here?"

He didn't respond immediately and for a moment Regina thought he fell asleep on her. Thing that made him a hypocrite, first he was ordering her around not to sleep and here he was now, taking a nap!

"Locksley?"

"Of course not, we are going to be just fine."

At the sound of his voice, Regina couldn't help but to smile. She knew he was lying and that he was probably having the same doubts and fears that she was having. But for some reason, she didn't mind that he was trying to make her think otherwise.

Luckily, they were not going to be there long enough for sharks to come and greet them into their domain. No, she was feeling positive that soon there was going to be a helicopter, maybe a boat searching for them.

She just knew it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lyrics at the beginning are part of a cover song by Led Zeppelin called In My Times Of Dying. I just liked them and threw them here!


	3. Chapter 3

ChApTeR 3

Regina opened her eyes just in time to see one of her suitcases floating right before her eyes. It passed in front of her, floating stealthily over an immense blue sea that seemed to have no end.

As her eyes took on the image, her mind went back in memory lane to the events of the previous night and as it all started to come back, she couldn't help but to shiver, a new wave of dread trying to creep inside of her.

It was just that the whole thing still felt so surreal; the crash, swimming out of that plane, watching that woman get sucked into the darkness of the night…

Everything her mind was grasping was just awful and she would do anything for all of it to be nothing more than a nightmare.

Unfortunately it was not, she knew because the sensation of cool water up to her chest and the pounding headache she still had felt way too real for it to be a dream.

So no, not a nightmare, it was her reality and right now it wasn't looking very good.

Blinking slowly, she took a deep breath, hoping that doing so would allow her to inhale and then exhale her increasing sense of doom into the wind; but it did nothing for her and instead it made her even more worried.

She just couldn't quite comprehend why she was still here, where was the rescue? She didn't even know for how long she passed out or what time is was.

Sure, judging by the chastising intensity of the sun shining from above it was pretty much obvious that night was gone and that a new day has begun. And still, they floated here.

None of it made sense, several hours have gone by with the two of them hanging there and she couldn't help but to think of sharks, hypothermia and now that day was upon them, the possibility of dehydration.

Right in that moment, they were not even living the worst case scenario and the knowledge that things could get worse really scared her.

But worrying served for nothing so trying to focus on anything but the dangers they could be facing, she extended her hand, absentmindedly trying to get hold of her wandering suitcase. The effort to get it made her take notice that she was aching all over, the position she so inconveniently fell asleep was probably not the most ideal.

But then again, the whole situation was less than ideal and for a moment she had to close her eyes to collect herself.

She knew she had to keep a positive mind and trust that rescue will come soon, until then she just needed to remain calm.

Opening her eyes once again, she took a look around, spotting once again her D&G rolling suitcase. She tried to reach for it but failed miserably, it was already too far away.

Following it with her chocolate brown eyes, she watched the slow progress of the expensive piece of nothing getting more and more out of her reach.

And that was when she saw _it_, in the distance, like a mirage.

Shaking her head, Regina closed her eyes and counted to ten, allowing some time for her brain to clear up. She didn't want to get her hopes up only to find out it was just her imagination reflecting over there, but when she opened them again it was still there. It didn't disappear in thin air as she feared it would.

"Locksley," She called out but her voice was only a raspy whisper and she doubted that he heard her pathetic attempt at communication.

Her throat hurt, she hadn't realized it until that moment but it felt as if she swallowed a bucket full of sand.

But that didn't matter right now, what she should focus on was on moving to her side so that she could face Robin. She wanted to wake him up and make him look. If he saw what she was seeing, then it was real.

And God, she hoped it was real.

Pushing her weight with her arms she began the torturous process of turning to her side, but in her haste to do so she only managed to roll backwards and into the water.

She went under with a splash, random images of starving sharks and gargantuan krakens invading her mind. As it happened she knew she was being irrational, but blind panic did not reason and she couldn't help but to overreact. She never liked getting into any body of water where her feet couldn't touch the bottom and well… she couldn't do that in the open sea.

The bottom… the pilot was in the bottom, along with the rest of the jet.

Refusing to drown in there, she fought her way to the surface and as soon as she was up she sucked in a deep breath, grateful for the feeling of air filling up her lungs.

Once her head was out she had to close her eyes because the combination of the salty water in them and the sun shining on her face full force was blinding. Oh but it wasn't just that, no… to make matters even worse in her attempts to breathe she ended up swallowing a mouthful of water and she had to cough it up.

"What do you think you are doing?" His voice was low, raspy as her own.

Gasping and doing her best not to let his British accent drill into her brain, Regina searched blindly for the improvised raft. What she found was his hand and before she could draw away from his touch he secured a hold on her and gave a hard pull that dragged her forward.

She had to open her eyes to see what was he doing and before she knew it she was next to the floating piece of jet. Once there she grabbed for it and snatched her hand away.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She snapped because yes, she was annoyed. Not only because she fell into the water, but because he was there as a witness.

If there was something that characterized her was that she was proud, and because of that she hated making a fool out of herself in front of people.

"If I had to take a wild guess I would say that you were trying to drink the entire big blue. Did you know that drinking sea water can cause your kidneys to collapse?"

Snarling her lips, she locked eyes with him, noticing that there was an easy smirk on his face as he looked down on her and that the intensity of the sun in his face was making his eyes look even more brighter that what they really were.

"Thanks for the information, I'll make sure to keep it in mind." She hissed that in the most petulant tone she could manage.

"No problem, I'm full of life-saving information. Did you know that by looking at…"

"Just so you know, I wasn't satisfying my thirst, I was actually trying to reach that." She interrupted him while pointing toward the island. If it turned out not to be there she could always say it was her suitcase what she was trying to reach.

At her words, Robin looked to where she pointed and Regina watched him expectantly, she was even holding her breath. He stared for a while, his eyes narrowing as he looked on.

"So?" She ventured to ask. Patience was not one of her best traits and she was beginning to lose it while waiting for him to speak.

But before she could start getting antsy, he looked at her, the blue of his eyes sparkling as they fixed on hers; then he just laughed.

"Well this already went pear-shaped so why the bloody hell not? Can you swim?"

Not really understanding what he meant with his initial statement, she nodded. Then she saw as he slid into the water to start swimming away. Once he swam pass her suitcase her spirits started to lift because that meant he saw the island. It wasn't a mirage and it wasn't in her mind, no, it was really there.

Now, the Island was not too far away if they were on a boat, a motored boat that was. But the two miles or so that separated them from the shore was a considerable distance if you had to swim it and she actually hesitated going after Robin.

But then she thought of her son, who by this hour should already know about what happened to her and that was all the motivation she needed to start swimming.

Of course, she made sure to grab her suitcase while moving along.

By the time she was halfway to the Island she felt already exhausted. Unlike Robin, she had the disadvantage of not only wearing a tailor dress that limited her movements but she also had to drag along part of her luggage and she was already feeling like giving up. It wasn't easy, but because she knew very well that she just couldn't quit, she sucked it up and kept going.

So she swam and swam and when she could finally reach the soft bottom she started walking to the shore.

Exhausted and soaked to the bone, she felt like collapsing. The need to get out of the water was the only thing driving her to go on; she just hoped the Island had a nice Ritz or better yet, an airport that could offer her a safe flight back home.

Once she finally reached the shore she was panting so she tried to work on her breathing while doing her best to ignore the ache all over her muscles.

It wasn't a walk in the park, but she managed.

"Almost there." She mumbled to herself with her head casted down, her eyes taking on the crystal clear turquoise water that was swallowing her legs from her knees down.

She could see her feet through it, somehow she has lost her shoes so she walked in her black nylon stockings and the image of it all was entrancing. For a while that was the only thing she concentrated on, watching as her feet moved and willing her legs to keep going with the power of her mind.

Once she finally made it to the shore, she looked up and through half closed eyelids saw Robin. He was spread over the white sand, lying there with his knees pointing to the skies and his chest raising and falling as he tried to recuperate his breath. His eyes were closed so he wasn't looking, and that was probably the reason why she forgot all decorum that characterized her and followed his example.

Lying flat down, she closed her eyes. She just needed a couple of minutes to catch her breath as well and wait for the pain in her chest to dwindle down. Wouldn't hurt to rest a bit too, after all her limbs felt like rubber and it was better if she waited them to go back to normal before doing anything else.

Now, the only good thing about the whole ordeal was that there was a refreshing breeze all around her, so even when the sun's heat was blasting from above, there was a nice quality about being there. It was just good to be on solid ground.

"You know-" He started to say, his voice the same easy going tone that annoyed her. "This was definitely not what I had planned for today. I mean… a walk through town maybe, but a plane crash and a deserted island? I don't think I get paid enough for this."

As a response to what he said, Regina immediately opened her eyes and tilting her face towards him shoot him a glance. "What do you mean by deserted Island?"

Snorting, he turned to her, his eyes finding hers while they lay there. "Like in Lord of the Flies and Gilligan's Island; only that here it's just you and me."

Regina shook her head in denial, he was delusional. "Don't be ridiculous, there are no deserted islands in this century."

Or were they?

Getting up to her feet, she forgot all about physical exhaustion and looked all around her, noticing that there was sand everywhere; it extended all over the place.

She kept looking, hoping to find a sign of civilization. But she got nothing, everything seemed untouched, pure. There, several feet from the shore she spotted a dense foliage into the island, there were palm trees, sand and ocean and nothing more.

"No… this is not happening." She said out loud, already feeling her self-control slipping through her fingers.

She looked to the trees and plants that lead into the island and then back to the ocean, thinking that she was done; Henry, her life, her work… it was all gone.

"There has to be someone around here, you can't say this is a deserted Island just like that." Her voice, too loud for her taste lacked her usual condescending tone and showed a more desperate one.

In any other situation she would cringe at the thought of showing such weakness but this was different, it was…

Before her mind could keep rolling, she felt him turn her head to him, his fingers burying into her hair and his thumbs on her face; that way he forced her to look in those blues of his. She didn't say anything to that; she just stared.

"Come on, don't freak out on me, I'm pretty much sure this will be temporary and that in no time we'll get rescued. But until that happens we need to remain calm, maybe explore the island and see if we can find water and perhaps something to eat, alright?"

Regina just nodded. He was yet to release her face from his grip and she wasn't trying to get away from it either. It was as if time froze and the only real thing left were his eyes and the glint they had while staring back into hers.

"Now, I did not watch Survivor for nothing, so let's see what this island has to offer, I'll even let you chose our brunch."

"I'm not hungry."

Flashing her way one of the smiles she has come to hate whenever he showed up at her office asking to revise her paperwork, he tilted his head to the side. For some reason his eyes were refusing to leave hers and what was even weirder was that she wasn't trying to pull away.

He was too close too, more than he had any right to be.

"I'm not either, but I'll see what I can find anyways." With that said he finally let go of her.

"You go, I'll stay here. I don't want our rescue to come by and miss us." Shaking her head from the trance he just put her it, she took a step back and then turning around she walked away.

She walked until she was under the shadow of a few palm trees and then she sat, making sure her tailor dress would stay in place.

"Fine, I'll go by myself then." He remained there while looking down on her and she hoped that he better not be expecting her to change her mind and join him, because she most certainly wasn't going to.

"Just don't go too far away in case rescue comes and I have to call you."

"Alright then," He said with a shrug before turning around.

Regina watched him leave, disappearing out of her sight and into the foliage.

Once he was gone there was complete silence all around her, just the sound of the wind and the soft lullaby of the ocean. At least that was until she heard some kind of bird singing his song in a place nearby.

Despite herself, she shivered at the sound. Not because of the bird but because who knew what else was on that Island. There could be wild animals or worse, unfriendly inhabitants.

And those where not even the only possible dangers, what if Robin ended up injuring himself or getting forever lost while in there? What if he went in never to be seen again and thus she would remain all alone in that island until the end of her days, whenever that may be?

"Locksley?" She called out and then waited for a response. There was nothing. Didn't she tell him to stay close?

Getting up to her feet, she approached the path he just took, but then she retreated and sat back down. It would be better if she remained there until they got rescued.

So she waited, and waited, and waited…

If felt as if she has been waiting for an eternity and then a little more. She stood up, paced back and forth, sat back again and still nothing, no rescue and no Robin. By then desperation was starting to get the best of her.

She just didn't know how much more of it she could take.

Sighing as a way to try to maintain some calm, she turned her gaze into the horizon until the rays of light made her eyes water; she blinked the discomfort away and keep looking. The wait continued but she was not going to give up hope; soon she was going spot a rescue boat coming their way and the nightmare would be over.

Until then she just needed to keep waiting.

"Come on Locksley, where are you?" She mumbled, taking a quick glance to check if at least he showed up. He didn't.

Turning back to staring towards the sea, she used one of her hands to try to shield her face from the sun. By then, the heat that has taken over the Island was not helping her cause either. As time went by, the intensity of the sun increased and she had nowhere to escape it. Even the shadow casted by the huge palm tree behind her was not enough to guard her of the cruel heat anymore.

She was definitely not made for tropical weather, the humidity was killing her, she was sticky, there was sand all over her and she just hated it.

Wanting to distract herself she walked back to the shore, once there she ended up pulling her suitcase to where she has been sitting so that she could start rummaging through it. The hopes of finding something that will help them out of there dying as she couldn't find a boat, a flare or even a working cell phone. But why would she have such things? It wasn't as she packed them.

Groaning in frustration, she took a brief glance into the bushes again. Robin was nowhere to be found and it briefly crossed her mind that if he didn't come out soon she would have to go in and look for him.

But that would be later; now that he was not there she wanted to take the opportunity to select a more comfortable change of clothes than what she was wearing. Not that she has packed a great variety, so after discarding more of her tailor dresses, blazers, skirts and more stockings, she finally found something that would kind of work.

Once she picked her selection she looked back again, and when she was sure he wasn't there yet she started by taking off the stockings.

It was a relief to slide them off her legs and she just had to let out an appreciative sigh; once they were off she reached to her back and unzipped her dress.

Taking it off as well and making sure not to let the designer fabric fall to the sand, she quickly put on a sleeveless shirt, enjoying while it lasted the sensation of the breeze caressing her exposed skin.

It was as she did that when she heard the distinctive sound of Robin clearing his throat.

Turning around startled, she almost tripped over into the sand. Her dress was still in her hand and she covered herself with it.

"What are… are you spying on me?" She almost yelled as he looked down to his feet with a mixture of amusement and embarrassment

"I am _not_ spying on you," He said that in a dry chuckle, turning his back to her so that she could hurry to put the black cotton chinos she had chosen from her luggage. "I didn't know you were changing. I was just walking in and… I'm sorry."

"Yeah, and instead of having the decency in you to turn back, you decided to keep looking." She was already dressed but his back was still to her so she couldn't say what was the expression on his face.

"Regina, If I wanted to keep looking I would have done it without letting my presence know. But I didn't do that, did I? I let you know I was here."

Opening her mouth to speak and then clasping it shut, she shook her head in disbelief and settled her hands to her waist.

"Oh so you pretend that I would be thankful that not only did you spied on me but that you also let me know?"

She saw how he lifted his head to look towards the skies and how his shoulders rose and dropped as if he was blowing out a breath. "I don't know what else you want me say. I apologize already."

"I don't need you to say anything, in fact I would appreciate if you just don't talk to me until we get out of here."

Turning finally around, Robin blinked slowly as he walked over to her. She saw him as if in slow motion and she actually had to fight against the urge of taking a step back to retreat from him.

"Listen; I know you don't like me, you've made yourself pretty much clear about that since day one, but since we are stuck here with each other I guess we have to learn how to co-exist. Do you think we can do that in a civilized manner?"

Arching an eyebrow and eyeing him briefly, she shrugged indifferently. Sure, she knew he probably didn't walk in on her on purpose and maybe, just maybe she was overreacting, but still, she didn't want to fully give him all the reason. "I guess."

"Brilliant," He said with an actual grin. It made Regina roll her eyes and turn away from him.

"So what did you find?" She asked, trying to forget the previous incident. She took notice on how he came back empty handed… well, not empty handed because there was some kind of stick in his hand. But the food that he went to find was nowhere to be found.

"Well-" Sitting down on a rock, he took out a pocketknife and started peeling with it one of the edges of the wooden stick he brought with him. "There is a small lake about a mile into the jungle, other than that there's nothing other than trees and lizards."

Snarling her lips, she felt a shiver run down her spine. She hated lizards and she wondered how come of all the islands in the world, why did they have to get stranded in one full of lizards.

"Would we be able to drink water from that lake?" She asked instead because her throat hurt, she was thirsty and that might be the only source of potable water around.

"Sure, I would have got you some but I didn't have anything on me to bring it to you, sorry." He said without looking at her. "But if you want to go there I can point you the way."

Thinking about the lizards, she shook her head. But then she started thinking about the endless source of drinking water and she couldn't help but to feel her mouth all dry and withering. Even her throat felt on fire and demanded to be treated.

"Maybe I'll go later." And yes, when the time came that he decided to go back there she was going with him. She wasn't going to deny her body of that precious liquid. 'What's with the stick?"

He looked up at her and snorted. "It's a lance, and with it I'm going to get us some food."

"Oh," She mumbled while watching him work.

Once he finished sharpening the so called lance of his, he stood up and smiled. "I guess here comes nothing." After saying that, he kicked off his shoes and socks, rolled his pants and started walking off.

Regina frowned, watching him walk toward a bunch of rocks at one side of the ocean. She watched as he got in and started looking into the water for something. Was it fish what he was looking for? Because if that was it then he was never going to get one.

She has sat with Henry on many occasions to watch enough movies and documentaries to know that the only way he would be catching a fish with that stick was if he got extremely lucky.

Maybe she should go and tell him that.

It would save him a lot of time to know, and really, it wasn't as if she didn't want him to succeed, after all she was starting to feel her body protesting the lack of food in her system. But at the same time, one of her good qualities was that she was objective and she knew the differences of what could be achieved and what couldn't.

Apparently he didn't know anything about having that kind of sense.

After a long while, she got tired of watching him impale his improvised lance into the water so she looked away, back to the horizon and in search of the rescue boat that will take them out of there.

She didn't get to see any kind of boat, but she did see something else floating by. Standing up, she strained her eyesight, trying to get a better look.

Walking closer to the shore she looked on, the force of the sun chastising her as soon as she walked out of the shade. Up close she saw that there are a couple of the floating objects, and as they get closer she got to see that they are suitcases. Probably Robin's… she could also see her handbag.

Biting hard on her lips, she considered her options, she could let the current carry them wherever it pleased or she could go and get them. They were not too far away, in fact, they were within swimming distance.

Robin was still occupied with pocking the water and she didn't think that he would give that up in favor of helping her get the suitcases, so, because of that she decided to do it herself.

It took her a while to get the entire luggage; there were three big suitcases, one which turned out to be hers too and her handbag. By the time she was done she was tired, soaking and thirstier than ever.

And Robin was still oblivious to it all. She could have drowned in there and he wouldn't have even noticed.

Shrugging because she didn't need him after all, she dragged all the stuff to the shadow, and when they were all there she sat for a while, catching her breath. Maybe Robin had something to eat among his stuff, maybe even something to drink.

So occupied she was with her thoughts that she didn't notice Robin getting out of the water until he passed in a flash by her side.

She got to her feet quickly, but before she could even open her mouth to say something he was back into the jungle, mumbling under his breath.

"Hey!" She called out. "Mr. Locksley!" She walked after him, but by the time she made it to the bushes he was already gone. "Seriously?" Stomping her bare foot down, she tried to decide if it would be a good idea to venture after him.

After some serious thinking, she ended up walking back and sitting over one of his suitcases. What happened? Did he suddenly find the need to take a bathroom break?

Blowing out a breath, she opened her handbag to find right on top of all her things two granola bars. She smiled and took them out.

At least they would have something to eat, it wasn't much but it would do now that Robin gave up the pretense of being a cast member of Survivor. She put them into her other suitcase to eat later, when he would be back.

With the food set up, she kept looking into her things, but she only had more clothes and her make-up bag. She threw that away, getting more frustrated as time kept passing by.

After a few minutes that felt like hours, Robin walked out of the bushes with the nastiest lizard she has ever seen in her life. It was green and ugly and very much dead.

She involuntarily cringed at the sight of it.

Didn't he know those things were her natural nemesis? Imagine her horror when he threw it in her lap.

"If I hunt it, you'll cook it."

Gasping, she got up in a rush, throwing the damn thing to the sand. She actually had to fight the urge to smack Robin in the face for doing such a thing.

"Hey, don't throw it, that's our dinner."

"Are you out of your mind? I'm not going to touch that thing." She said full of determination as she watched as if in a trance how he picked it up. "I won't."

He shoot her a glare. "So what, do you expect me to do all the things around here while you sit comfortably under the shadow? I'm not your secretary or your assistant, Regina. If you want to eat you'll have to collaborate."

Stunned, not only because of what he said but because he actually looked angry, the raven haired woman blinked a couple of times, registering his words in her brain and comprehending. "Fine then, keep your stupid dinner and choke on it."

With that said, she walked away from him; she even did the unimaginable… stepping into the jungle, barefoot and all by herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Regina still couldn't believe that of all the people in this world, she actually got stranded in a deserted Island with the biggest imbecile of them all.

It was inconceivable and she couldn't help but to think that if it has been her assistance instead of Locksley, she would be better than what she was now. Yes, Sidney would have done everything within his power to make her as comfortable as he could.

But nooooooo! Instead of Sidney she got Robin and not even a full day has passed by for the man to get on her nerves already.

Sure, she should have expected it sooner, actually, after all the man had been nothing but a pain in her side since he showed up at her office with an official order to investigate her every step and every damn paper she has signed. So that his everyday routine of annoying her had dragged into the island should have been obvious.

So never mind that Sidney would probably wouldn't have known the difference from south to north as Robin probably did, the fact remained that her long time assistance would have made for a more pleasant company…

That was if she could get pass the constant flattery that he couldn't keep to himself no matter how much he knew she disliked pandering.

But anyway, the real problem was that now because of Robin, she couldn't even be at the beach waiting for their rescue, and all because the idiot of a man decided to change his fake act of courtesy and show his true ugly colors.

He was a complete ass on her and now she didn't even want to look at his face.

At least it wasn't so bad there into the jungle. The heat of sun didn't reach that part of the island, there was a whole lake for herself to drink from and as of yet she hadn't seen a single lizard getting on her way. So yeah, maybe until rescue came she would do fine on her own.

As for the food thing, when she would get really, really hungry she guessed she could go back to the beach and get her granola bars; after all they were hers and that she was going to share them with Mr. Asshole was just an act of consideration.

Yeah, stupid her.

What really worried her was nightfall, it was already getting late and she would hate to spend the night alone in that jungle. She had the distinct feeling that there may be worse things than lizards lurking around and she didn't want to encounter any of them.

Even in plain daylight she could hear some of them, howling and going about their business somewhere around her and they were really starting to make her nervous.

Trying not to think about that, she threw a rock into the water, trying to ignore the rumbling noises her stomach was starting to make. She didn't want to go back to the beach yet so she would have to hold on a while longer.

How long was it until a human body could survive without food anyway? She wished she could remember that because the last thing she need was to starve because of Robin.

But who knew, maybe he was kind of right… and it wasn't as if she didn't want to collaborate with him; but seriously, touching and then skinning a lizard? She honestly didn't think she could bring herself to do that because she hated those little evil green creatures.

Maybe if it was something else…

Sighing once again, her eyes scanned her surroundings as she decided not to waste another thought on Robin. He was the one that went off on her unnecessarily and she wasn't going to look pass that so easily.

Decided, she ran her fingers through her hair and kept looking, and it was as she did that when she noticed that there was one ugly creature crawling out of the lake and it got her attention immediately.

It looked like a crab but she wasn't sure. Not that it mattered, when she saw it all she thought was food so reaching for a big leaf that was lying around, she threw it over the creature, trapping it under but unable to do anything more.

For a second she was not sure on what to do, so she just closed her eyes and smashed it with a rock that has been lying nearby.

She killed the little thingy and now she knew that she couldn't eat it. She didn't know how to start a fire and she was not eating the thing raw. What if she got poisoned?

Oh, but what if she took it back to Robin as a peace offering? He would probably know what to do with it…

No, she was definitely not going to do that. She has done nothing wrong so there was no reason why she had to go to him with the tail between her legs.

"Hey,"

For the second time that day, he startled her, but this time she was able to hide it from him. She just straightened her posture and fixed her eyes forward, refusing to look at him.

Apparently not minding that, he sat by her side, and because she was not looking at him he practically shoved a flower in her face.

Frowning, she backed up a little, getting a better look at it. It was an exotic purple flower and she could say that never before has she seen a similar one. Even while backing up she could still feel its fresh scent invading all her senses

It was actually beautiful.

"I'm sorry, there, I said it." He rasped out in a grumble.

Now that really got her attention and she had to turn her head to the side to look at him.

He didn't look happy; he was frowning, his lips were a thin line as he sucked them into his mouth and at the little grimace he was making she could see that he had dimples. "It was uncalled for what you did out there."

He shrugged, tilting his head so he could look directly into her eyes. "Maybe I was a bit rough." He said tentatively. 'But…"

Rolling her eyes because she just knew that he was going to ruin the moment by saying something he shouldn't say, she hummed.

"Regina, you are a tad insufferable at times. And when I say a tad I'm actually putting in lightly."

Snapping the flower out of his hand and inhaling from it, she shrugged. She has heard worse words than that to describe her so she was going to let it pass. She was a hard pill to swallow, she knew that.

"And you Locksley, you really don't know how to properly apologize." As she said that, she saw out of the corner of her eyes that his lips curved slightly.

"Alright, I shall try it again then. Madame Mayor, I apologize for being an arse back there. I also apologize for ruining one of your shoes."

Arching an eyebrow and fixing her eyes on him once more, she shook her head as if to clear it. "What shoe?"

He smiled gleefully. "I don't know, the red soled one with the long pointy heel I found beside your bags. It was perfect to crack open a coconut but I'm afraid I broke it."

Gasping in disbelief and blinking her eyes a couple of times, Regina just stared at him. For a moment she didn't say anything, her mind processing what she just heard.

"My Louboutins? You took a thousand dollars shoe to open a coconut?" She said at last.

"Well," He began to say after clicking his tongue. "Why don't we focus on the fact that because I cracked said coconut now we can drink the water, eat the meat and we can use the shell to storage fresh water. So yeah, you're welcome."

She opened her mouth to reply to him but closed it without uttering a word. She didn't know what to say.

"And who spends a thousand dollars for shoes anyway, do you know all you could buy with that money?"

"They were Louboutins, Locksley." Not that she expected him to know about designer brands or about carrying an image.

"Anyhow," He said getting up to his feet. "Let's get back there. I'm starving and food is waiting."

Breaking out of her trance and trying not to get mad about her broken shoe, Regina wrinkled her nose. "Raw lizard?"

He laughed a raspy laugh that didn't sound very amused. "You underestimate me, I actually cooked it nicely. I told you I didn't watch survivor for nothing. As for the taste, it's actually not that bad, kind of tastes like chicken."

Wrinkling her nose, she decided not to say anything. She did however got to her feet and started walking after him.

Now she wasn't sure if her appetite was strong enough to eat lizard but at least she wasn't going to spend the night alone in the jungle.

Back at the beach, the first thing she noticed was that darkness was slowly starting to take over the place. It was creeping on them almost unnoticed, a silent predator that will soon swallow them whole into its depth.

She didn't like it because there was no way to escape it. They could only sit there, waiting for the cold breath of it to fall heavily upon them.

Now, she has never been one to fear darkness, not even as a little girl. But in that moment, in that place, she couldn't help but to feel its impending arrival as a premonition of doom.

Or maybe she was being a little bit over the top. After all it wasn't like they were going to be in complete darkness. There was a bright full moon shinning from the sky and even more importantly than that, Robin has managed to get a fire going.

But still, they didn't know what lurked in the darkness, they were clueless as to what could be found deep into that jungle… or what could find them there.

A chill ran through her and she had to shake her head lightly; she was not going to let her imagination run wild. She couldn't risk losing her sanity; it was the only thing she had left.

Trying to keep her mind occupied, she moved her eyes away from the delicate purple flower in her hand and looked at Robin. He was crouching down on the sand, right in front one of the suitcases she rescued from the sea.

"Did you find anything yet?" She asked while trying to take a furtive glance at the contents in the suitcase. As it turned out, only one of them was his. The remaining two she could only assume belong… or belonged, to the unfortunate crew members of the plane.

He shook his head no without looking at her, his attention focused entirely on what was inside the luggage.

The other one he already checked, there was nothing in there they could use to help their 'stay' in the island easier; maybe some personal effects like soap and other things of the sort that they could use in case they ran out of theirs, but she hoped they wouldn't have to reach that point.

No, hopefully, they would get rescued first thing in the morning. In the middle of the night would be even better.

"I guess we can use this." He threw something at her and out of reflexes she caught it in midair.

It was a towel, a beach towel… very convenient if you ask her, but at the same time she couldn't help but to feel a pang of guilt out of taking stuff out of the suitcases while their owner's bodies were trapped in the bottom of the ocean, dead.

She opened her mouth to say that to Robin, but before any sound could escape her mouth she closed it again. She was being silly, so instead of speaking her mind she just folded the towel and put it on her lap.

"More rubbish." He exclaimed and Regina quickly lifted her chin up to look at him. He was taking stuff out of the open suitcase and throwing it out into the sand.

For some reason that bothered her.

"Do you think rescue will come soon?" She asked out loud, hoping that a random conversation would make him stop throwing things around.

And it worked, because as soon as the words were said he looked at her. "Well I certainly hope so, football season starts soon and I wouldn't want to miss it."

"What?" She almost chuckled, he couldn't be serious.

Instead of answering, Robin got up to his feet and walked towards her, sitting by her side once he was close enough. "I'm sure rescue is already on its way. We just have to wait here for it and while we wait he must eat."

Her lips quirked as she took a glance at the meat, it was still tied up to a stick close to the fire and upon that quick look she already knew she wasn't going to like it.

She was a picky eater and the only thought of digesting that made her want to gag.

But trying to keep it casual instead of revealing how fastidious she could be when it came to food as well, she shrugged indifferently. "I'm actually not that hungry."

Lacing her fingers before letting her hands rest on her lap and pursing her lips, she looked at him as if expecting him to challenge that statement, she even had a retort of her own; but when her eyes met his she found herself rendered speechless by the way his eyes delved deep into hers.

"Really?" He asked simply. "You haven't got a bite all day."

Because she somehow forgot what she was going to reply in case he challenged her, she eyed him down the only way she knew how, as if she was a thousand feet above him.

He snorted, licking his lips and even lowering his eyes.

Regina took that opportunity to fix her hair while low-key take a good look at him.

Probably because the combination of sea water and the tropical conditions, his hair was naturally spiked, giving him a very laid back look that differed greatly from the one he would wear at the office.

It was as she studied him that he lifted his eyes back up and he ended up staring right back at her.

Tensing her jaw, she kept looking; she wouldn't know how to explain it but she just couldn't help but to feel entranced by his eyes once again. There was something in the way the fire reflected in them that made them sparkle in the night and there was an intensity in his stare hard to ignore. It was crazy.

"Now don't be silly, you have to eat something." As he made that statement, Regina saw how he reached forward so he could tear a piece of the lizard with his bare hands. "Here-" The second he said that he proceeded to basically shove a piece of the meat to her face, brushing it against her lips.

Turning her face to the side and trying not to grimace, she groaned. She even went ahead and pushed his hand away. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Her tone came off as indignant and grave, she couldn't believe the audacity of him.

"Well look at that, of all the things I could think of you, I wouldn't have imagined you were such a baby." He chuckled, taking the meat into his mouth instead.

Straightening her back and arching an eyebrow, she swallowed down the urge wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I am not a baby, I just don't like eating lizards."

"Sure." He said, taking the coconut and bringing it up to his lips to drink from it. "Not even my five year old boy is such a baby."

Blinking slowly and storing into the back of her mind the fact that he had a son, she searched for his hand with her eyes; there was no ring but she still wondered if he was married.

That he could be was something that has never crossed her mind before and realization came to her that even though he has spent the last few months in Storybrooke, a town were she was Mayor, she didn't really know anything about him.

She knew he was an auditor for Central Government, that he would be annoyingly cheerful whenever he came by her office asking for her files and that he liked his coffee black.

That last one she knew because one day after watching her secretary sheepishly joke with him about how he liked his coffee, she actually had to pull her apart to tell her that Mr. Locksley was not a welcome guess and that she shouldn't be treating him as such.

She has been fuming that day and ever after, her secretary would offer him the beverage, but not as cheerfully and amicably as she used to.

So no, she didn't really know more than that. Other than assuming he was from England because of his accent, she just didn't know.

"Do you try to feed your boy lizard too?" She asked, discretely fishing for information.

"Not yet." He just smiled and she watched as he tore yet another piece of the lizard. This one, he also offered it to her. "Come on, you must eat something."

Not quite satisfied with his answer but knowing she shouldn't push it, she considered eating for a moment. She still had the granola bars but she had to be realistic, as much as she wanted to get rescued as soon as possible, she didn't know how long they would have to wait there.

What if a couple of days went by and Robin would be unable to get food? That would be the ideal moment to use the bars, not in that moment were there was food available.

Taking in a deep breath, she took the meat out of his hand. Once she had it she took a small bite; she chewed on it and swallowed it quickly, trying not to taste it or even think about it.

"See, that wasn't so bad."

"Just don't talk to me right now." Regina said, raising her hand as if to motion him quiet.

He smirked, his eyebrow arching a little as he looked back at her. But he said nothing, he just grabbed more lizard to eat and when he was done he took some more to give it to her.

They went on like that for a while, sharing the food in silence while Regina little by little started to get used to it. Not necessarily to the taste, that actually wasn't so bad, but used to the whole situation.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked after they were done eating.

Regina took a sip out of the coconut. Its nectar was sweet and nice to her taste buds and just for that she was going to forgive him for ruining her shoes. "Well, you can ask but I can't guarantee an answer."

"Fair enough." He said before clearing his throat and leaning forward a little. "I've been to Storybrooke for a while now and it has come to my attention that I've only seen you out of your office just once, and even that was during an official event. Is work the only thing you do?"

Tilting her head and blinking rapidly, she considered the question. It wasn't exactly what she was expecting so she didn't know what to say without coming off as a boring workaholic

"Well, Robin… as it happens to be I'm very dedicated to my job and-" Before she could go on she saw him snort while running a hand along his beard and she halted, not sure of what to make of the sparkle in his eyes now. "What?" She snapped.

"You just called me by my name, I'm pretty much sure it's the first time you do that."

Lifting her chin as if in defiance, Regina pursed her lips. She hadn't been aware that she slipped like that until he pointed out. "Well, you've been indiscriminately using mine so I didn't think it would bother you if I did the same."

"Oh no, I don't mind. I prefer it that way, Mr. Locksley makes me feel quite old. You go on with you were about to say, don't mind me."

Not really in the mood of going back to the subject, she looked away. "Well thanks to the interruption I forgot what I was about to say."

"Okay…" Robin said, his tone letting her know that he didn't believe her.

Not that she cared so lowering her gaze, she started staring at the flower in her hand. She has forgotten all about it and as her eyes set upon it she noticed that it was all crushed. She tried to fix it as best as she could.

They remained in silence for a while and when the moment was starting to become kind of awkward, she shifted her attention and looked up towards the sky. There were like a thousand stars sparkling above them and she couldn't help but to think that the view was really breathtaking.

"We don't have skies like this back home." He said following her gaze. "I mean we do, but we can't see it like this."

"No we don't." She said with a quirk of her lips as her eyes kept drinking on the sight, and with her eyes looking up, she noticed that there were a few black clouds approaching.

"So your boy, what's his name?" She asked finally, half the reason because she was curious and the other half because she was lacking on something else to say.

She wasn't a social butterfly and small talk was not really her forte.

"Roland, he's quite a little fella. He's five but he has the wits of a ten year old." He smiled as he talked about his son and she couldn't help but to smile too. "I heard you have a boy yourself."

"You heard?" Well that was interesting, and not necessarily in a good way. She knew how Storybrooke's residents liked their gossip, especially when it was about the Mills.

"I've heard quite a lot of things about you."

Her hand went up and she ran the tip of her pinky along her eyebrow. "I'm sure you did. What I'm not really sure is if I want to know about what you heard."

He took in a deep breath, his eyes scanning her. Or so she thought because she wasn't looking at him to know for sure.

She was to occupied observing how the dark clouds keep advancing, obscuring the view they had earlier on of the moon and stars.

It was a good thing they still had the fire.

"You know I actually got little bits from here and there so let's see what I got so far about the infamous Regina Mills." He tapped his finger to his lips as if to think. "Well for starters I got you are the prodigious daughter of the town's most influential family. You grew up an overachiever, left town for college quite young, came back at twenty three with a Master's degree and a newborn. That apparently created a family rift. Pulled through, got your Ph.D. and became the town's youngest Mayor."

Regina snorted, but not necessarily in amusement. "Is that all you got?" Because it was quite a brief look at her life through the town's eyes. Of course, there was so much more to that and not everything happened exactly like people believed but she wasn't about to share.

She was very protective about her personal life and everything that involved Henry.

"Pretty much so. There was also a mysterious tale about a fiancé long ago…. Actually two of them, but other than town's gossip what most people told me were warnings about how not to cross the Mighty Madame Mayor."

Humming, she blinked. "I see you didn't follow that advice." Because he has done so and many times. Nothing blunt, but in a very laid back manner that made her even more angry he had gone over orders she had given her staff.

"Just doing my job. I have to provide for me and my boy so you know how it is. Besides, I think all those warnings and tales about your terrible ways are just that, tales."

The corner of her lips curved slightly and she looked at him. Judging by how he failed to mention a wife right there, she was going to assume he was not married. Even if she didn't know why, she also put that information into the back of her mind.

"I mean conceited and peevish yes, maybe sulky at times but overall I think you are not as bad as people think, or as bad as you want them to think you are."

Before she could even think of a reply to that, a sudden wind gust swirled around them and she gasped in surprise, especially since it extinguished the fire so they were now as she feared earlier, swallowed by the darkness.

Well no complete darkness, but enough to send a shiver down her spine.

"Nope, that was no creepy at all." He said sarcastically while getting up to his feet.

The wind picked up a little after that and she had the distinct feeling that it was going to rain, that was probably why when he stood in front of her and offered his hand to help her stand up, she took it.

She took the towel along, hugging it to her chest as if searching some kind of comfort.

Without saying more and with her hand secured into his, she walked after him without really paying attention to where they were going.

They didn't walk like that too long, and before the black haired woman could ask where they were going, he halted on his tracks and pulled her down along with him.

They ended up sitting down on the sand and in front of some trees and bushes. The foliage created some kind of cover so she guessed that at least it was better than nothing.

"You should try to get some rest." He said, his back to a trunk while she sat by his side. He had his legs stretched out in front of him and without giving her time to protest, he made her lean into him so that she ended up resting against his chest.

At the sudden movement, she opened her mouth to say something, but then his arm was over her shoulder, pulling her even closer and she closed her mouth shut.

She didn't know what to say, hell, she didn't even know what to do with her arms or where to put them. They were drawn close to her because she didn't want to let them fall against him.

"Comfy?"

She was half laying over him, not exactly comfortable but just because her body was so tense. She nodded anyway.

Apparently satisfied with her answer, he put the towel over her, shielding her from the cold breeze.

Sighing, she blinked a couple of times and fought against the urge of chewing on her nails, and old habit that her mother hated and she gave up long ago. She could feel his chest raising and falling with his breathing and because everything was so quiet, she could even feel his heart beating into his chest.

That was how close she was to him and maybe because of that or because it was starting to get so cold, she shivered.

Without saying anything, his hand started rubbing to her arm and she closed her eyes, absorbing some of his body heat and even relaxing her posture.

It was that way how little by little, sleep took over her.


	5. Chapter 5

Whoever it was that said that time was ephemeral clearly didn't know what he was talking about. No he didn't, that was something Regina was very sure of.

This person, whoever he or she was, probably said that as a lame attempt to sound deep and smart or maybe even inspirational, but the truth was that the passage of time was anything but fleeting.

Time was actually a funny thing. It had a certain immeasurable quality on it that only became steady according to ones need. It was capricious, for those who were in a happy place it was fast and it disintegrated into nothing in the blink of an eye, but to those who waited it was never-ending.

Those who waited could easily see how time prolonged by itself, how a minute could drag onto forever and how a day could stretch into a whole eternity. It was a fastidious thing too, actually, and as she sat with her gaze lost in the distant horizon she couldn't help but to feel like she was trapped in a limbo where the notion of time of space was a relative thing that unfortunately froze.

It sounded crazy, yes she knew, but after spending the last three days of her life waiting and trapped in a place where she couldn't escape from, that was how she was feeling.

She was pretty much sure that she was about to lose her mind.

And as if that wasn't enough, the already weakened hold on her sanity wasn't only because her wait seemed to be dragging into an eternity; no, it was also because the damn humidity and ridiculous heat reigning on the island made her feel exhausted, both mentally and physically and the knowledge that another day was going to pass by without rescue coming was enough to make her spirits sink down to her feet.

It was amazing how she hadn't had a nervous breakdown yet.

Oh but she was very close, she could even feel desperation prickling beneath her skin, wanting to burst out… but because she couldn't allow that to happen, she has been doing her best to keep her days busy and her mind occupied.

For example, that morning after she woke up with her face annoyingly buried into the sand she took a hike into the jungle all by herself and trying to ignore the hundred lizards watching her explore their territory, she collected a nice variety of wild fruit. She also refilled Robin's coconut with fresh water, she bathed in the lake and what was even better, she found a few aloe leaves that she was planning to use to sooth her sunburned skin.

But those trivial things entertained her only for a short period of time because somewhere along the way she ran out of things to do. She managed to get herself busy for the good part of two to three hours and then she was back at the beach, ready for another day of endless waiting.

That has been that morning, and when she walked back the first thing she saw was that Robin was keeping himself busy as well by trying to build some kind of shelter for them to spend the night in.

He probably got tired of sleeping with the menace of rain falling upon then and waking up with sand down his throat. At least she knew she was tired of it, because after two nights of the same the novelty of it wore down and it was really irritating.

But not dwelling on their sleeping arrangements because it was still something that made her uncomfortable and extremely self-conscious, the thing was that Regina stepped up and ended up helping him and now, as she sat there a few hours later, she was proud to say that the shelter ended up pretty decent.

It wasn't a suite on Hilton, but she guessed it could work.

As it turned out, Robin was pretty handy when it came to that kind of thing and out of what nature offered plus a little imagination, he made something that would shield them from the rain and wind.

Frankly, she really hoped they wouldn't have to use it because she was expecting that day to be the one when they finally got out of the God forsaken Island for good.

After all, enough time has passed for people to realize that their flight never reached its destination and a rescue team had to be searching all over.

Well at least she hoped they were looking for them and why wouldn't they? It was too soon to give them up for dead, or was it?

Before she could have enough time to panic about the possibility of Henry thinking she was dead, she saw Robin making his way towards hers and taking in a deep breath, she tried to hold onto her composure.

He has been out in the ocean trying once again to get some fishes with the lance he made. That he was empty handed told her that he didn't have much luck that day either.

Before he could reach her, she grabbed one aloe leaf and started to peel it; she didn't necessarily want him to know that she has been sitting there doing nothing productive.

"You know, this Bear Grylls makes it look so easy on the telly but I'll tell you something, it isn't. Fishes are very sneaky and that makes me conclude that his show was staged. Do you think that's his real name? I mean, a guy named Bear, Bear Grylls that ended up doing a program called Man vs. Wild?" He said that with a snort as he sat by her side.

Pushing the inside of her cheek with the tip of her tongue, Regina ventured to take a look at him, noticing that he was shirtless, soaked to the bone and looking very much like a wild-man.

He has also chosen to rip his pants right below the knees and adding that to the fact that he was barefoot and sunburnt added even more to the wilderness in him.

She probably looked as uncivilized as him and sighing at the notion she put the sticky aloe leaf down and shook her head.

"Why haven't we been rescued yet?"

"I don't know." He put the lance down and for a moment they both remained sitting there in silence.

"I guess they are searching the wrong place, but they will eventually find their way here. You'll see."

"Eventually sounds too vague… if they don't come here before nightfall I think I'll go crazy."

"You better not. I don't know if I'm any good handling crazy women." Robin said and she angled her face towards him. He was looking back at her with one of his easy going smiles, the kind that made his dimples come on full display and she wondered if the whole thing was affecting him as much as it affected her.

She didn't think it did, because while she was struggling to maintain her mind on track he seemed focused and in control. He knew what they needed to do, and when and even how while her mind was all messed.

He was even trying to keep her positive by reassuring her that all was going to turn out alright but still nothing good had stuck; her usually sharp-witted nature and clear mind was flickering and she just knew that she was going to flip majestically sooner or later and he was going to be the one whose sanity was going to endure.

The previous night was a good example of how he tried where she failed. She has been irritable as hell and even though he has made attempts to engage in conversation she refused to humor him. It hadn't been like the first night were they were at least civil with each other.

Now, she was giving herself props because she hadn't been rude or anything, but her continuous silence made for a very awkward moment when they went to sleep almost as the first night, bundled together and absorbing each other's body heat.

But despite all that, it has been a tolerable day for her mind's stability, but she wasn't sure how many of those she had left.

"So what's that for?" Taking her out of her thoughts with his words, Robin grabbed the aloe in his hand, making a grimace of disgust as he touched it.

Blowing out a breath, she shrugged. "That's an aloe leaf; it's great to treat a sunburned skin. It looks gross, but it stops the burning feeling and it will prevent your skin to peel off."

"Really?" He asked giving it another look and smelling it.

"Yes." She said, rolling her eyes at the fact that he was second guessing what she just said.

"So you just put it on your skin and that's it?"

Arching an eyebrow she just nodded. She wasn't going to keep repeating herself, she hated to do that.

"Brilliant." Once that was said he moved from his position at her side and sat right in front of her instead. "I feel like my back is burning and I can't even put on a shirt without it bothering me."

"You want me to put it on you?" She asked almost in a chuckle, but before she could refuse like she intended to do, she saw that his back indeed looked like it was on fire.

"Well if it will really help then yes."

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head because this was one kind of bonding she didn't really want to achieve, Regina took in a deep breath and decided that if she was going to do it she better get on with it already.

With the decision made, she took some of the aloe in her hand and started to apply it on his skin.

Upon first contact the first to run through her mind was that he was hot, like literarily hot and she couldn't help but to think that if he wouldn't waste so much of his time under the sun trying to fish, his back and shoulders wouldn't be like that.

But apparently he was stubborn, and because that was at least a characteristic he had that she could relate to, she wasn't even going to comment on that.

Now, back to the moment, she was trying not to touch more than what it was strictly necessary, but as the palm of her hands covered the damage, she couldn't help but to notice that even though fit and with muscles in all the right places, Robin's skin was actually very smooth to the touch.

It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, touching him…

But because she didn't want her mind to wander there, she cleared her throat and spoke.

"I've never really tried it like this, I usually buy it bottled up, put it in my fridge and then use at discretion. I'm afraid I can't promise it will work."

"You use this cold?" Even with that simple sentence his accent came out very pronounced and almost without noticing, she smiled.

"Yes. Well I've never tried it myself. But I buy it ever since Henry got home from a trip with one hell of a sunburn. It was a lifesaver."

She remembered the day as if it has been as recently as yesterday. It has been back when Henry and Emma were trying to connect and Swan has taken the boy for the weekend. She has been hesitant because she has never allowed her son out of her sigh for too long and because even though the woman was Henry's biological mother, she was still basically a stranger to him.

She has also been insecure about how quickly they were bonding but that was a story for another moment.

The thing was that Emma brought Henry back all fried up. She has taken him to the beach and he ended up all sunburnt.

She has been so mad after seeing Henry like that so as it was to be expected, she chewed off the blonde's ear with accusations; but because Henry was happy, she did her best to let it go.

"Is Henry your boy?" Robin asked and she hummed an affirmation. "So besides Henry, is there another fella in your life, perhaps a boyfriend?"

Surprised at the bluntness of the question and even more surprised at the fact that she wasn't snapping at him for nosing into things that didn't concern him, she just shrugged.

"I think you already know the answer to that, since you've been all over town listening to all kinds of gossip about me."

"First of all it hasn't been all over town, just Granny's, and second, yes I've heard quite some but this one I'm asking you."

Taking a moment to gather into her hand more of the gooey substance to then keep on with the task of treating his skin, she quirked her lips.

"I don't have time for that."

"Well that's quite a busy life you lead, no time for movies, no time for dating…"

"I wouldn't have accomplished half the things I've done if I had time to be slacking off, Locksley."

"It's not slacking off, it's creating a balance. Regina, in life you have to enjoy the little moments because at the end it's all about that."

She snorted. "Well look at you going all Guru on me, who would have thought?"

He laughed, the sound rich and deep. "I never thought the day would come when I heard Regina Mills cracking a joke on me. What a time to be alive."

"Yeah, don't push it."

He hummed and she bit hard on her lips. For a while she said no more and neither did he. She just covered his back nicely, kind of enjoying the smoothness of his skin beneath her hands.

"You know what can pick up your mood?"

"Getting off this Island?" She stopped working on his back, wiping the remains of the aloe on her shirt.

"Well besides that. You could go with me and assist me in catching dinner, there is nothing like blood and gore to make you feel better."

This time she did snort. "No, that is highly unlikely. It will be a cold day in hell before I do that."

"Well I hope the devil likes chilly, because unfortunately for you, I'm not taking a no for an answer." He stood up and turned around, offering her a hand up.

Biting on her lips again and arching an eyebrow, she looked at him. She tried to focus on his face and nothing more. She considered it for a second and even though not entirely sure, she extended her hand and allowed him to pull at it.

Once she was up he didn't let go of her hand and tilting her head she just watched him as he watched her, she wondered what she was doing.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Robin…" She whispered as she took one step further.

She couldn't see anything that wasn't him so out of instinct she closed her hands into fists and lifted them up to his back. She didn't touch him though but just let them linger close in case she had to use him as support or in the worse case scenario, as a shield.

But even though she wasn't touching him, she was close to him, so close that she could even smell the fresh scent of the aloe she just plastered on him; so close that if she took one more step forward she would get that same aloe all over her.

"What?" He whispered back, but his eyesight remained ahead, fixed on his prey.

"Why don't we look for some lizards instead? There are like a thousand in here." And as far as she was concerned, lizards were harmless. Yes they were ugly and green and evil but they were pretty much harmless.

At least she has never heard of a case where a lizard attacked a human being… but then again she has never heard of a pig attacking one neither.

"Why, all of a sudden you like lizards? I thought you hated them."

He took another step and she followed him.

Now as a rule, she considered herself to be pragmatic and definitely not one to succumb prey to irrationality, but in that moment she was letting her mind be ruled by instinct instead of trying to reason about what was going on and the result was that she was apprehensive.

Maybe she was even being silly, but the thing was that she had a very bad feeling and it has been like that since during their little expedition into the jungle Robin spotted what he wanted to be their dinner.

"I changed my mind." And that was true, because that night, under the circumstances, lizard didn't sound so bad.

Almost without noticing, she rested one of her hands to his back. She did it because she needed the support as she walked basically blind after him.

"Is that so?" She felt the muscles of his back rippling under her touch, his body moving stealthily as he advanced forward.

She nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her. "I definitely did."

He chuckled, but he was still going forward, not back. Regina didn't want to go forward and she didn't have to, she could just walk back to the beach and wait until he came all wounded and empty handed.

"Robin-"

"Just imagine it, Regina, roasted pork, bacon, ham… I can even taste it, can't you?"

Rolling her eyes, she had to internally admit that after a strict diet of lizards and fruit it did sound pretty good, but she also knew it wasn't going to happen. Didn't he have to be a butcher or something to make all those cuts?

Besides it was going to be a bloodbath, and she wasn't entirely sure who was going to be the one bleeding as the pig was really huge.

And how the hell did a pig end up in a deserted island anyway? It had to be all savage and unfriendly and it looked like it could have them for dinner instead.

"So how do you plan to kill it anyway? Are you going to beat him senseless with that thing?" She asked a bit too sassy, talking about the lance.

He turned a little to the side, probably trying to get a look at her. "You know, you are not being helpful here, Regina."

Now that he moved a bit to the side, she was once again able to take a look at the animal. It was still resting between some bushes, unaware that they were there, planning on eating him that night.

"I'm going back to the beach. Then I'm going to practice telling everyone that yes, you survived a plane crash only to be killed by a pig."

"Come on, it's just a pig and it will be great for breakfast."

As he said that, she watched in stupefaction as the pig opened its eyes to stare right back at her. And if she didn't like him while it slept imagine how it felt to her now that it was awake.

"Um, Robin." She moved her hand from his back and grabbed his arm, all of that she did it as the heinous creature got up on its little chubby feet.

Robin was unaware of all of it, she could faintly hear him talking but she couldn't understand a word he was saying. She was just focused on the pig and the way he was growling at them.

Because yes, the pig was growling like a dog with rabies, baring its pointy yellow teeth at them.

That was probably why Robin shut his mouth and looked towards the animal. Then he just cussed.

That was also when the thing started to run towards them.

"I think you better run." Robin said turning around, he then grabbed her waist to make her do the same and when he urged her to run she had to oblige.

So she ran, barefoot, in a jungle while a savage pig was on her tail. It was one of those things in life you never expected to happen. Like being stranded on a deserted Island after surviving a plane crash.

But that was life, always ready to give her more than what she bargained for. She only had to smile and received what was being served.

So as she moved as fast as she could, getting all kinds of stuff encrusted into her feet and being hit by branches all over, life gave her a new challenge. It ended their road.

She stopped abruptly when there was no more of it to flee; the only thing right in front of her was the end of the path and at the bottom of it the lake. Now, she could jump in or wait for the pig to…

Before she could finish the thought, Robin grabbed her once again and without giving her time to think he made her jump with him into the water.

It was not very high, but the fall sure felt like forever and a day and when she finally hit the water and went under, her only goal was swimming to the surface and making sure the pig didn't jump in.

Once she broke out, she rubbed the water off her eyes to take a look around. She could see Robin but there was no pig.

Feeling relieved at that, she tried to reach the bottom with her feet but she came up short and hating it, she just waited for the beating of her heart to go back to normal.

After a blink, she looked up to see if the evil creature was still there. She couldn't see it, so she ventured to take a look at Robin right when he fixed his eyes on her. Then he started to laugh.

For a couple of seconds she watched him perplexed… she just couldn't believe him! Everything that just happened was his entire fault and he just laughed about it?

Getting mad and unable to take her frustration any other way, she splashed some water to his face. "That was not funny, Robin!"

Shaking the water off his face he smiled. "Oh come on you have to admit that it was kind of funny. No one back home will believe it though."

"You mean like you want to share this with people, let them all know that we got chased by a pig?"

"Hell yes! It will add nicely to my list of things I did before I died."

Groaning, she splashed more water to him, watching as he tried to evade the small wave by moving his head sideways. Then before she could even blink, he returned the favor and splashed a huge amount of water all around her.

"Stop it!" She protested, trying her best to take cover without drowning. It was kind of difficult because her feet couldn't reach the bottom and she was struggling just to maintain herself afloat.

"Oh so it's fair for you to do it but not the other way around. I see." He did it one more time and she actually had to close her eyes as he got water into them.

"I hate you." She grunted, rubbing her eyes, and while she did that she felt his hands grabbing her waist underwater to keep her afloat against him.

It startled her and she just had to open her eyes abruptly.

"No you don't, you can't hate someone who feds you and builds you shelters."

It was weird, but she felt a shiver run all the way from her head to her toes just by having him so close. And his voice was so mellow and just so… so…

Shaking her head as if to clear it, she tried to ignore her reaction as nothing but a little lapse of judgment. The sun probably fried her brain but now she was back with all her senses intact and as a way to prove it to herself, she took a deep breath and said the first thing that came into her mind. "You also almost got me killed right now so it evens out."

He tightened his hold on her, pulling her even closer and giving her no other choice but to rest her hands against his chest. It made her wonder why she was letting him take that liberty, but then again she did nothing to stop it.

Now with the way he was holding her, one of her knees was practically between his legs, a position she believed to be way too intimate. Not even when they slept all over each other did they were that kind of close.

It didn't help that he was shirtless and her heart, not having completely recuperated from her run, beat ridiculously fast into her chest.

And she just remained there, staring at him like an idiot, caught off guard by the way his deep blue eyes dug into hers. It was then when she realized that if he went ahead and kissed her, she was going to let him.

Maybe that was what he was going to do, he was close enough so that if he leaned a bit into hers their lips would met.

That thought lasted only a second, then as if reacting, she pushed her body away from him and turned around to swim away. She did it abruptly and without saying a word.

She didn't know what got into her, all she knew was that in that moment she needed to put some distance between them and the sooner, the better.


	6. Chapter 6

"This is ridiculous."

Regina mumbled the words under her breath as she angrily emptied all the contents of her make-up bag over a skirt she spread out over the ground.

As she did that, some of the stuff rolled out of the fabric and landed over the sand. A lipstick, maybe a mascara, her moisturizer… to be quite honest she didn't even put attention to that.

No, she actually wasn't completely aware of what was happening; what she was doing she was doing on automatic, almost as if her body was acting on its own accord while her mind drifted towards another direction.

And well, that other direction was of course Robin and what happened at the lake.

It was ridiculous… really, so ridiculous that she wasn't even going to think about it anymore. It has been nothing anyway… it wasn't like something happened so no, she wasn't going to waste another thought on it.

Thinking about it was like empowering it to take a hold on her and she wasn't going to let that happen. She had a lot on her plate as it was already so she could not let her troubled mind get confused about things with Robin.

He was no one anyway, just the man who unfortunately got stuck with her in a deserted island and she needed to keep that very clear in her mind.

Sure, he was what could be considered comely, she guessed, but he was also the man who has come to disrupt the peace of mind she had back in her working place so she most definitely couldn't let her mind wander where it shouldn't go when it came to him.

It would be a conflict of interest and not professional from her part.

Besides he was so, so irritating that she couldn't even get why she was having these thoughts. He annoyed her back at the office and maybe he was annoying her there too. He with his stupid smile and penetrating gaze just rubbed her the wrong way.

Taking in a deep breath and closing her eyes for a couple of seconds, she thought about everything that has happened between them since the crash and then she shrugged.

So maybe he wasn't annoying her much now, but he was still who he was and that wasn't going to change.

So, decided not to let him alter her psyche and in desperate need of distracting herself she kept rummaging through her things. She wasn't sure what it was that she was looking for but she kept on anyway.

Besides who could blame her if she really thought that he was going to kiss her? He has been close enough not to be thinking about it himself so no, it wasn't like she imagined it.

The real question was why did she remain there like an idiot waiting for it to happen?

That wasn't like her, she was definitely not the kind of woman who welcomed those unwanted approaches so what the hell happened to her back there?

Could it be that the heat was really impairing her judgement? That the blow to the head damaged her brain or maybe that it has been so long since she was last kissed that she unconsciously wanted to remember what it was like?

Shaking her head because that was the most ridiculous explanation her mind has come up with, she snorted.

"I need to get a grip." She whispered to herself.

It was right after she said that that she heard some movement somewhere behind her. Now, the sound was barely perceptible but in the silence that took over the place it wasn't hard to get the most minimal sound. She didn't have to take a look to know who it was.

"So there you are," He said in his thick accent and Regina could detect that his voice was carrying a hint of amusement.

Did he know that she almost let him kiss her?

Pursing her lips, she tilted her head so that she could look at him as he sat by her side, and as she looked she tried to determine what did he know.

Nothing, she hoped, because if kissing her had been his real intention he would have gone for it before she could bolt.

But he didn't, thing that made her wonder if maybe it has been all in her head and she was overreacting.

Yes, it had to be that…

A little more relaxed at the thought that it has all been in her head, she brushed her hair behind her ear and relaxed her posture.

"Where else could I be? It's not like there are many places to go in this damn Island."

"Well you are technically right, but I was kind of worried that our friend Dark Babe got you back there so I was looking for you all over the place. If I would have known you were here playing make-up I wouldn't have bothered."

At his words, Regina slowly ran the tip of her tongue across her upper lip and blinked a couple of times. At first she wasn't sure what he was talking about and she just looked at him, dripping wet, still very shirtless and taking hold of her lipstick in one hand as he eyed it over. He was even opening it.

With a roll of her eyes she snatched the overly expensive cosmetic from his hand and threw it back into her bag.

"I wasn't playing; I was looking for…"

"So I take you are still upset with me." He interrupted her with a smile, probably taking the hint from her cutting tone. "I mean you left in quite a hurry."

Keeping her face a stoic mask so she wouldn't give away why it was that she left in such a rush, she eyed him coldly. "You made me run from a wild pig in the middle of the jungle and then pushed me into the lake so yes, I am upset."

Tilting his face to her so that he could look her in the eye, Robin chuckled and his eyes even showed a sparkle of amusement.

The good for nothing imbecile was enjoying the whole thing.

"I don't find any of what happened even remotely funny, Locksley."

Tapping a finger to his lips and refusing to drop the gaze, Robin spoke. "Do you want to know what your problem is?"

At the question, Regina chuckled. It wasn't an amused one, but more like an incredulous one. "You mean besides being stranded in a deserted island?"

"You don't know how to relax." Running a hand down his jaw, his face got a little bit more serious but his eyes were still showing amusement.

"Are you serious? Do you actually think I can relax here? I mean yes I get it, you are probably having the time of your life being chased off by wild animals and almost dying in a plane crash but that's hardly my idea of having a good time. I don't want to be here and I won't relax. I can't and it's stupid of you to even suggest that."

Her words came out as she intended, harsh and direct. But as it happened since he walked into her office that first day, he was not disturbed on the slightest as a result of her demeanor.

"Alright." He started to say while nodding. "First of all I'll clarify that I want to be here as much as you do, this if far from ideal for me as well. But I also know that I can't despair over things I can't control. Stressing over not being rescued will get me nowhere, it will only help me lose my mind and none of us need that right now."

He let the words sink in before continuing.

"Second… perhaps the relaxing bit was a bad choice of words, but the thing is that I've seen enough of you over the last few months to know that this… stern character of yours is not something Island related. Now I do get why you act like that here because yes, we are screwed and yes we both hate it, but at the same time if we let it get to us it will own us. That's why I think that what you need is to let your hair down every once in a while you know, maybe it help your stay here a tad easier."

His eyes settled on hers, digging deep into them as she stared back at him.

"Well, all that sounds very inspirational, Locksley, really-" Her voice dripped sarcasm. "But as long as I know that my son thinks I'm dead I won't be able to just chill here and wish for a Margarita."

"Fair. I have a son too who doesn't have anyone but me in this world. He already lost his mother and I have no intention of him losing me as well, and that he may think it happened is something that gnaws my mind day in and day out. But the thing is, Regina, that going crazy about it wont help him and it won't help me."

Blinking a couple of times and lowering her hostility when he mentioned his son and how he had no one else, she sighed.

"I'm not your enemy, I wasn't back at Storybrooke and I'm definitely not now. We are in this together so all I ask is for us to get along here. Can we do that, this time for real?"

She shrugged. Maybe she was once again making it all about herself instead of looking at him like an ally who was going through the same thing that was happening to her. That was a mistake.

Besides he was right, whether she liked it or not, because worrying about Henry and being cranky did nothing but help her mind to deteriorate. She didn't need that. As for Robin? Right in that moment he was all that she had.

"I guess." She said through clenched teeth even though she wasn't feeling annoyed.

"So truce?" He offered a hand to seal the deal and she took it.

"Yes. But if you make me run for my life once again the truce is done. Got it?"

"I got it." He replied, his dimple smile in full display and letting go of her hand after holding it in his a little too long.

It made her roll her eyes and wanting to focus on anything else she asked about something she was curious about.

"So who's with your son while you are here?"

His lips curved into a smile. "A mate of mine, Little John. Best person to take care of my boy. He's been helping some, especially since we lost Roland's mother a couple of years ago."

"Well at least you have someone trustworthy to take care of him. Henry will have to stay with my mother and I honestly can't think of something worse than that." In fact, that was so awful that she would rather let Emma take him and who knew, considering how her mother has never been too fond of Henry she probably would allow that to happen.

"Is she really that bad?"

"Hmm." She puffed out a breath, not even sure why she said that out loud. "No offense but even with the truce, that subject is off limits. I would have to be extremely drunk to discuss my mommy issues with you anyway.

And maybe not even then would she talk about it. The only person she has talked about her mother with has been Daniel and after everything they went through, opening her heart to him didn't end so well for either one of them so no, the Cora subject was definitely off limits.

"Well, perhaps when we get out of here I'll invite you to some drinks so you can tell me all about it."

At his words, Regina opened her mouth and then closed it. What did that even mean? She didn't dare ask because all of a sudden she had a flashback at what happened at the lake.

Was it that he took her comment the wrong way? Because she sure as hell didn't mean that she wanted to get friendly enough with him to go out drinking and let along talking about her issues.

"I don't think drinking at the office is really my thing." Now, if she said that it was because she wanted to make it clear that even though they were in a weird situation at the moment, the only relation they could have was a professional one.

"And I wouldn't encourage you to do it so I guess I'll have to take you somewhere else."

"Right." She said slowly, trying to analyze the whole thing.

"Anyhow, turning the page on Mommie Dearest, what about your boy's father, wouldn't he be next of kin if you are not there?"

Without thinking much about it and wondering why she didn't blurt out a hell no when he suggested taking her out for a drink, she shrugged. "I don't know who's Henry's father."

"Oh." He said a little too dramatically.

Lifting her eyes to him and watching his shocked expression she laughed. The sound came out of her suddenly and she had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle it.

"That came out wrong. I'm not Henry's biological mother that's why… I adopted him so… you know."

"Oh okay. For a minute I thought- you know, never mind what I thought. Let's just focus on the fact that I got a laugh out of you. You should do it more often, it suits you."

Lowering her eyes and intertwining her fingers, she said nothing about that.

She didn't know what to say anyway because quite honestly she didn't know what the hell was going on. Was he flirting with her or was he being his usual friendly fool?

She really didn't know.

She also didn't know why she wasn't stopping him cold turkey if he was.

"Life was meant to be enjoyed, Regina, we are not here to merely exist. I don't know, think about that." He said as he got up to his feet. "Anyway, I'll fix something to eat so be free to join whenever you like." With that said he walked away and got over to 'the camp'.

After he was gone, Regina remained sitting in her spot for the longest time and despite what he said about not worrying about things she couldn't control, she allowed her mind to think about Henry.

It was going to be after all the fourth day after the crash and those were four whole days where he didn't know anything about her. For all she knew he probably thought she dead.

A shiver ran down her spine but she was going to follow Robin's advise and not obsess over that, as there was nothing she could do about it.

With that in mind she started to gather all her things to put them back into the bag. When she was done she remained there, watching the sky turn from blue to gray as the day went by and turned into a late overcast afternoon.

Now, she really hoped the scenario wouldn't get any worse with rain but she had a feeling that it could, and by the look of it and the cold breeze swirling around she predicted lots of it.

Fantastic.

Sighing, she ventured to take a look over to the camp and the first thing she noticed was that Robin was sitting in front of the fire he made a while ago; maybe he was cooking his dinner, maybe he was eating it, she was not sure… the thing was that he looked warm while she was out there in the cold.

He was also wearing a shirt now so she was going to be grateful at that. That was all she had to see to make up her mind with the fact that she didn't want to be sitting there anymore and that she wanted to be in the shelter. Maybe she could doze off and wake up to their rescue calling them out.

She was even going to skip dinner, with the turmoil of emotions she just experienced, she wasn't hungry.

So with that plan in her mind, she got up and made her way towards the shelter, her eyes falling over the form of Robin as he stared at her making her progress.

"Ready to eat? I think you will love this menu, for tonight we have roasted lizard."

"Maybe later, I have a headache so I'll try to sleep it off." She mumbled and kept going straight into the shelter.

"Sleeping with an empty stomach will not make it better, trust me."

She didn't reply and just got in to lay down in a corner, snuggling the closest she could get to the wall while hoping that Morpheus would take her soon in his arms.

The only problem was that a long time passed by and she just lay wide awake. She couldn't seem to fall asleep and the harder she tried the more frustrated she got.

It was just too cold, the towel she was using as a blanket didn't provide enough warmth so she even considered going out to look for an extra shirt in her suitcase. But before she could decide on it she heard some rain thundering down… yes, she heard it and it was very loud. She could only imagine that there was a lot of it.

"You have to be bloody kidding me!" Robin grumbled as he entered the shelter. Now it may be that she couldn't see him, but she could hear him very well. "Does it really has to rain in this place every damn night? It's worse than London."

Regina blinked her eyes open but much as she did before, she remain in silence and immobile.

All she did was feel as he settled down while muttering under his breath some expletives about the weather and yes, how his side slightly brushed against her.

The contact was nothing too grave if you considered how they have been sleeping the previous nights, but maybe because of the lake thing, she couldn't help but to think that there wasn't so much space in the shelter.

Trying not to think about it that way, Regina bit on her lips as her body tensed. Now, that right there wasn't because of his closeness but because it was so cold that she was even trembling.

She was never going to fall asleep like that.

Shifting a little, she tried to find a much warmer position but it was hard in such a limited space. She accomplished nothing other than letting Robin know that she wasn't asleep.

"Are you cold?"

"Not so much." She lied, but because of the cold her tone came out forced.

She heard him chuckle, but before she could ask him what was so funny she felt his arm pull her to him; afterwards the same arm came resting casually around her waist.

Regina held her breath as that happened, swallowing hard as his body pressed close against her. Yes, even when he was slightly wet from the rain he still provided a nice source of warmth, but to be honest she would rather have him away.

Sure, it was nothing, it wasn't like he was groping her and well, for the last two nights they pretty much slept all over each other; but those previous nights she has been unaware that she would stay frozen under the thought that he was going to kiss her.

Now she knew, and if she was going to be completely honest with herself that made her feel inexplicably antsy.

It was ridiculous, it really was… especially since the only thing he was doing was trying to pass the night as warm as we could.

So with that in mind she tried to relax in his arms and once she managed it was actually not so bad. Maybe now she could get to sleep all through the night and wake up feeling better than ever.

Her breathing slowed a bit and she could feel sleep trying to get a hold of her… but was _he_ already asleep? His arm felt heavy on her and she could feel his slow breathing on her neck because yes, he was that close to her.

As is moved by an outer being with a huge amount of power over her body, she moved even closer to him, guiltily enjoying how her back molded to him. It was crazy, but he was nice and warm and she liked it.

So for a while she kept pressed to him, his hand still in its place and not even attempting to move away.

For some reason that made her come to her senses. What was wrong with her?

Once again she moved, trying to make it look like a casual thing in her sleep, but when she attempted to move away from him she only managed to bump her head into the bamboo that served as a wall.

The impact made her gasp and she was unable to keep the sound to herself as she rubbed a hand to her head. It hurt like hell.

Rolling to her back, she opened her eyes to notice that it was so dark in there that she could barely see her hand.

"Are you ok?" Robin asked in a chuckle and she had to fight against the urge to tell him to shove his stupid truce.

"I bumped my head with something." She said instead, her voice the best impression of a neutral voice she had. She hoped he would buy it.

"Be careful, I don't want you and your head to make this thing fall down on us. I mean I did my best but the foundation isn't the finest."

"Well thanks for your concern, Robin, next time I'll make sure not to break your shelter with my head."

He snorted at her sarcastic tone once again and she felt him moving. "Come here, let me see that." While hovering at her side, his fingers smoothed her forehead with their electric touch. "Well I'll be damn if I can see a thing, but no blood is always a good sign. I'm sure you'll be able to live through the night."

Nodding and very aware of his presence, she felt as his fingers moved to her hair, his face getting closer. So close that she could even feel his breath on her face and it definitely felt like déjà vu all over again. "I know… it's just… not a nice wake to wake up."

Was that the moment she should put him in his place? Or should she follow his own advise and do more than just existing by grabbing him herself and finally kiss him?

"Anyway… I'll go back to sleep now."

Clearing her throat, she turned to her side and remained still. He stood on position for a few seconds after her and then he lay down, his arm over her waist once again.

This time she did remain immobile and she didn't say a thing, she just concentrated on one thing only, which meant going through with the night and hoping that when morning came she wouldn't be feeling his closeness to be so… God, she didn't even know the right word for it!

She just knew that if rescue didn't come soon she was going to start to really lose it with that man…


	7. Chapter 7

If she looked into those eyes long enough, she knew she could get irreversibly lost.

Maybe she already was, because there was no other reason to explain why she was letting him do what he was doing.

Because it felt good?

It sure did! And as her body rocked in unison with his she couldn't think of any other reason as of why they were doing it.

But maybe the thing was that she didn't need a reason, maybe she should just forget about all the things that made sense in the world and just thrive in pure feeling; maybe she should just let herself be carried away in this, by him.

Robin… she breathed on him, getting drunk on his touch, feeling his warm lips on hers, loving how he parted his way into her.

She closed her eyes, allowing a huge wave of sweet sensation to take over her whole existence, letting him take all of her.

She was helpless to do anything else.

But even with her eyes closed, she could still feel the intensity of his blue stare piercing through her, delving deep inside as the need in her grew stronger, almost insatiable.

How did they end up like that? What cosmic event prompted them to give in into this? And did it really matter?

Right in that moment it didn't; at least not to her. The only thing that mattered was the way he felt against her, within her; the way her body was accepting him without restriction.

A soft moan escaped her as his lips descended from her mouth and down to her throat, kissing and nipping, tracing a hot path of fire that burned all the way to her toes…

It felt good; even when she knew that there was no turning back from this.

Her mind screamed that it was about time, that it was always meant to be. It has probably been written in the stars since the moment he walked into her office introducing himself… it has been only a matter of time and the right circumstances.

But then again, she couldn't think on the circumstances they were in… she couldn't even think straight… she could just feel.

And she liked what she was feeling.

His rhythm never faltered, and before she could fully realize it, she found herself wrapping her legs around his waist, urging him to go deeper, begging him not to stop.

"Robin-" She breathed out, snuggling into his chest…

"Hmmm?" He mumbled, still sleepy.

Startled, Regina opened her eyes abruptly. There was only darkness around her and she could just see a whole lot of black, not the blue pools that entranced her into giving herself to him.

Confused, she blinked a couple of times, realizing that Robin was not on top of her and he was definitely not _inside_ of her.

He was actually laying by her side, his back flat to the ground, one arm carelessly thrown over his head and the other one lazily resting over her waist.

Not only that, but she was not wrapping anything around him… most definitely not her legs. Yes, she was resting against him, and even when their bodies were having full contact, it was not the kind of contact she thought they were having.

True, maybe she somehow ended all over him, snuggled to his chest and with one leg over his, but they were fully clothed and well, with the scarce light entering through the crevices of the shelter she could say without a doubt that he looked pretty much asleep.

"Oh my God." She mumbled under her breath, horrified, while backing away from him.

She moved as if he was fire himself and being near would burn her.

"No, no…" She covered her mouth with the back of her hand, watching as he slowly opened his eyes to look at her with those mesmerizing blue of his.

_If I look into those eyes long enough I could get irreversibly lost…_

"Oh God no…" She mumbled again, covering her face with both her hands so that he wouldn't be able to see her shame.

She could feel her cheeks burning and her heart dropping all the way to her gut and she didn't want him to notice.

What was wrong with her?

"What is it?" He asked, his voice slightly groggy from sleep.

Regina shook her head, still hiding her face from him. "I…" She was speechless, unable to believe what just happened… or what didn't happen!

Oh my God… she was such a sick pervert!

Did he know?

Could he tell?

Feeling like it was too much, she turned around and crawled a few steps away from him and out of the shelter.

Once out, she sat on the sand and breathed into the chilly breeze, hoping that the fresh air would help her clear her head and collect herself.

It didn't, all she could think was how her overlong stay in the Island was finally making her lose her mind and she just knew that she needed to get away. If not out of the Island at least away from him.

Now, she didn't really know where could she do that since they were still stranded and there were not many places to go.

She was trapped there, with him and the memory of a messed up dream.

"Regina, are you all right?"

She heard him, but she refused to look back to him; the concern in his voice only added more fuel to her mortification.

"I'm fine… I just… I need water." Yes, water… she needed to freshen up.

With that in mind she got up and with clumsy steps she made it to the shore. Once she got there she kept walking until the water was up to her knees, only then did she allow herself to sit. Yes, like a madwoman she sat right there, hoping that the cold water that was now embracing her from her waist down would help her cool off.

"I can't believe this." She said to no one in particular.

But it was just that she really couldn't believe what happened. It was not like her to have those kind of dreams and let alone with Robin freaking Locksley so what the hell was happening to her?

Closing her eyes, she splashed water to her face, whishing that she could just disappear off the island.

Maybe it wasn't so much like she was loosing it… maybe it was just a natural reaction of being so close to him all the damn time. After all she has been trapped in that Island for almost a week now and every single night she and Robin ended sleeping all over each other.

It was something they never acknowledged when morning came and even though she tried to justify it with the fact that it was a necessity they had to keep warm, the truth was that the awkwardness of it always hung in the air and perhaps a little unresolved tension has been brewing. Especially since the day at the lake.

But all that was something she thought to be controlled, she has managed to keep on her lane, to keep her distance and now it was this.

Breathing deeply in, she ran her cold hands down her neck, unable to stop reliving everything back. But it was just that all of it felt so real; she could even feel the phantom of his lips on hers and the blood that ran through her veins felt alive under her skin.

It was all so, so wrong in so many levels.

She couldn't be having those kind of dreams so she really needed to get a grip. She needed to ban all ridiculous thoughts of him from her mind. After all it hadn't been real; it was just her wrecked subconscious speaking volumes. Her stupid wild subconscious playing tricks on her.

"Regina."

Clenching her jaw, she kept her eyes closed when she heard him approach. Why couldn't he stay back there, sleeping? Why wouldn't he leave her alone?

Swallowing on dry, she came to the conclusion that she really didn't want to face him right in that moment, not when her mind was in the wrong place.

"Hey, are you ok?"

He was close, probably kneeling in front of her; she knew because she could feel him touching her, forcing her head up with a lone finger under her chin so that he could take a look at her face.

As he did that, she wondered why was all of this happening to her. She was not a bad person… maybe she leaned more into being a bitter pill to swallow and she definitely wasn't people friendly, but she was not a bad person per se. She worked really hard and she paid her dues to be where she was, so why was all of this happening to her?

"Look at me." His voice was so very soft… almost velvety and she knew that in her state of mind he could probably talk her into anything… but not to look at him, she couldn't.

The only thing she could do at the moment was shake her head no and that was the only response she offered.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

A nightmare? She almost snorted, almost… she didn't.

She shook her head no again. "Yes."

It was far from a nightmare, nightmares didn't tend to be so pleasantly… pleasant.

He chuckled, she heard him. "Well did you, or didn't you?" His hands were now on her hair and she wondered if it was really necessary that he touched her.

It was something that as a rule he didn't do, and that he was starting now was the worse timing ever.

"I don't know."

She admitted in defeat, covering once again her face into her hands. She didn't know anything, she couldn't even think straight, not when he was so close to her.

"I think I'm finally loosing my mind." As soon as her words were out, a laugh burst out of her.

She tried to hold it at first but she wasn't able to because really, what happened to her was mortifying, but at the same time it was ridiculous. The whole thing was and it deserved a good laugh.

"Alright. Um, as satisfying as it to hear you laugh, I can't help but to kind of worry now."

He didn't sound worried, to Regina he sounded more amused than anything else and once again she wondered if he knew.

"I mean I think I told you that dealing with crazy women wasn't my specialty."

Dropping her hands from her face, she ventured to take a look at him. His blue eyes, just as they were in her dream, were delving deep into hers. And he did have a pair of beautiful eyes, they were the color of the ocean in broad daylight and she could see herself easily getting caught into their depths.

Thing that of course she couldn't allow.

Clearing her throat, she shook the thought away and tried to clung hard to her sanity. "I'm… I'll be okay, I just needed a moment I guess. I had a bad dream and just need to shake it off my system."

Robin smiled reassuringly. "Of course you'll be okay." He slid one of his fingers down her check, a slight caress that sent a small shiver to run down her spine. "Was the dream about the plane?"

"Yes." She replied looking straight into his blue stare. "I mean I don't quite remember but it did leave a bitter taste in my mouth."

For a fraction of a second his eyes lowered to her lips before going back to her eyes. The movement was almost imperceptible but she caught it alright.

Unless her mind was still trying to trick her.

"Well since the nightmare is over and we know now that you are not going crazy quite yet, why don't we go back there and try to sleep some more?"

"No." She hurried to say and she could see from the look on his face that she surprised him with that response. "I mean you go and get some sleep. I'll stay here."

His lips curved into one of his dimple smiles. "I'm not going to leave you here. It's freezing."

Unable to help it, she rolled her eyes. Her mouth also twisted in annoyance. "I don't need a guardian, Robin, I can-" But before she could keep with the improvised rant, he used the hand that was still in her hair and pulled her face to his.

The movement went smooth, he easily guided her straight to where he wanted her, which happened to be close enough so that he could press his lips to hers.

And she just… let him. She didn't protest and she didn't push him away, it was as if she froze with the contact.

Now, the kiss wasn't much as a kiss since he just touched her mouth with his lips, lingered for a couple of seconds and then pulled slightly away. It didn't give her time to react and let alone enjoy it.

"Alright that may have been a little out of line but I just needed to do it. Sorry."

Knowing this was the moment to tell him that yes, that he has been way out of line but unable to say it, she just blinked a couple of times and tried to register in her brain what was going on.

It was all the dream's fault. She knew it because if it wasn't because her defenses were down and her mind was still in the wrong place, she wouldn't have let him do what he did and let alone would she be closing the short distance that separated them to kiss him herself.

Now, this new contact wasn't much different that the first one and it differed greatly from the hungry kisses from her dream, she just lingered to get familiar with the new feeling.

And it was a nice feeling, Robin's lips were soft and warm against hers, and when he parted his lips into the kiss she did the same, their breaths mingling together.

Placing one hand to her waist and keeping the other one holding her head to him, Robin caught Regina's lower lip between his teeth, nibbling at her tender flesh and thus provoking her to sigh. It was unreal, actually, almost magical and something inside of her that she has believed to be long gone couldn't help but to feel all warm and cozy inside.

Dreaming about it was one thing, but this was real.

Not knowing what to do with her hands, she raised them and placed them to his shoulders, her body trembling lightly because of the cold.

Maybe that was Robin's cue, because as soon as she touched him he took one step further and brushed his tongue to her lips, testing the waters before going deeper.

And once again she allowed him to do as he pleased, she even tilted her head to the side and brushed tongues with him, marking the beginning of a more deeper kissing where both of them explored, savored and enjoyed.

It felt great, she wasn't sure if it was because it has been a while since she allowed herself to indulge in the simple pleasure of kissing someone or if it was because it was him, but the fact was than no matter the reason, his kissing made her feel warm all over.

All her senses were on edge and her body was starting to react to the way he kissed her, she even pressed against him and he held her tighter, his tongue swirling against hers in a way that was making her feel delirious.

But as much as she loved what they were doing, she suddenly realized that she needed to stop now or never.

Pulling away and feeling her breathing to be more than a bit ragged, Regina ran her fingers through her hair and laughed nervously. "Okay, that was interesting; it really was, but um… I think we should… you know, like stop."

"Alright." His hands dropped away from her and he licked his lips. He looked smug and the glint in his eyes told her all she needed to know about how much he liked what just happened.

It made her roll her eyes and she wondered why the hell did she allow him to kiss her like that. It definitely was a mistake not to be repeated ever again.

"I'm going back to the shelter, you can stay here."

She made to turn from him and finally be gone, but before she could make the first movement to get to her feet he grabbed her face with both his hands and kissed her again.

He sought entrance into her mouth immediately and she granted it, and when he lowered his hands down to her back to pull her closer she went ahead and circled his neck with her arms, her head tilting so that he could kiss her even deeper.

It was then than she knew that yes, she totally lost it, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing after all.


	8. Chapter 8

__

She could feel the intensity of his stare piercing through her. Actually, more than feeling it she could visualize it, vivid clear blue eyes observing her every move as she slowly made her way to where he was.

Maybe if she would do as much as lift her head she could reciprocate the stare, but the early morning sun was already high and bright in the sky and shinning directly into her face and she was evading the nuisance that was having the stubborn rays of light bothering her eyes.

That was the excuse, at least, the official version if you will, but the truth was that she wasn't looking at him because she wasn't quite sure if she was ready to do that yet.

Yes, it was true that ever since waking up she has been rehearsing the approach as if it was a very important meeting and by then she knew what she had to say and do, but the thing was that while making up the speech in the solitude of the shelter and then in the lake when she went to freshen up, she hadn't taken in consideration the effect those eyes still had on her.

And if she couldn't even look at him how was she supposed to tell him what she had to say?

"Good morning."

He was the one who spoke first and deep inside she cringed. She already started with the wrong foot and that couldn't be good.

But if there was something she was really good at was playing nonchalant and detached and that was what she was going to do. Keep it simple and professional, say what she needed to say and go. "Good morning."

Her voice came off a bit hesitant, but not something that worried her.

"So how was your sleep?" Now… _his_ tone, very different from the one she just used was more cheerful than it had any right to be and she decided that it was time to look at him eye to eye and be done with it.

She had to lift a hand to her face to shield her eyes from the sun, but she was still able to take a good look at him and she grabbed the opportunity to study the situation.

As he did every single morning, he was by the shore, preparing for another tryout of his fishing attempts. And as he was used to, he was shirtless and he was smiling at her. He was also very much focusing all his attention on her now, just as she predicted.

That definitely didn't help her case.

"It was good." Not that she has gotten much of it, not after the kisses they shared during the night. There has been a lot on her mind once she was in the shelter and shutting her eyes didn't come any easy. "How about you?"

"Bloody cold." He scoffed, but his features remained undisturbed.

At his reply, she lowered her gaze and ran the tip of her tongue against the edge of her teeth and focused instead on whatever it was that he was doing with the lining of a pair of storage bags.

He was ripping them apart and using them to do some kind of net he was tying to some sticks. She wasn't sure what that was for, but looking at it was better than to get caught up with feeling guilty about the fact that he spent the night out in the cold.

Not that it has been entirely her fault because yes, even though she has been the one who suggested that he remained out while she returned to the shelter, the truth was that after saying that he kissed her again and well, maybe she wouldn't have mind if he didn't do as she said.

Now that her mind was totally clear she was glad he did, because if the final decision would have really been hers, the results would have been terrible.

Her mind has been in the wrong place, not to say in the gutter, and adding to that the memory of the dream, the way he was kissing her while holding her close and yes, he had left her more than a little flustered.

She has even been surprised and perhaps a bit disappointed when he pulled away and said that it was probably better if he indeed remained outside. But she didn't say it, she just walked away, got into the shelter and spent half the night torn between going back to him or staying in her place.

At the end she opted for the safest option, but even though she wished that if it wasn't her, that at least he should be the one going to her.

That didn't happen, and now that morning came and the dream faded off her system, she was feeling well enough into her senses to come and make things clear with him.

Clearing her throat and tilting her face back to him, she folded her arms to her chest. "What happened last night can't happen again."

There, straight to the point as she liked it. She has never been one to beat around the bushes and this was not going to be the exception.

"Oh." He said, but even though his brows knitted some, his patented dimple smile still graced his face.

"Well now that we have that clear I'll leave you to whatever it is that you are doing."

"Can I ask you something?" He blurted as she was about to turn. He was now finishing with the improvised net and arching an eyebrow, she waited for him to ask his question. "Why is it that you are so afraid of me?"

Snorting at the absurdity of what he just said, she blinked a couple of times before replying. "And what makes you think I'm afraid of you? That's ridiculous."

He shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps I got the impression from the fact that you always try to put a barrier between us. You are extremely cautious not to let yourself get close to me and it seems like it is because you are afraid."

"That's one of the most absurds things I've ever heard."

"Probably. But like I said, just an impression. Don't mind me, I have this tendency of trying to read people and most of the time I'm pretty accurate."

Allowing her arms to fall to her sides, her lips twisted petulantly. "Maybe you are not as good at reading people as you thought you were."

He just smiled, and instead of letting it there as she knew she should, she held her head high and arched an eyebrow.

"I'm not afraid, mind you, I just don't want you to get the wrong impression about what happened-"

"You mean that you kissed me?" He said interrupting her.

She scoffed. "Excuse me? You were the one who kissed me." He started it, if he would have left her alone and kept his lips away they wouldn't be dealing with the aftermatch of it all.

Yes, she didn't make much of an attempt to stop it and may have even encouraged him, but it hadn't been her the one who started it.

"If that's your version of it…" He shrugged and she saw that his face had the same smug look as the night before.

It rubbed her the wrong way, not only because he was having fun at her expenses, but because the conversation was nothing like the one she had rehearsed earlier on. It felt as if she was stuck in a bad debate, one she was indisputably losing.

"It is. So let's just leave it there."

"Is that what you want, to leave it there?" His gaze went back to hers and she rolled her eyes.

"Of course I do." Or did she? She wasn't sure; she was a hundred percent sure that she didn't want to complicate her life more than what it was already but at the same time, his kiss woke up something in her she thought to be asleep. It was confusing.

"You, Regina Mills, are a terrible liar. I definitely would have expected better out of a Mayor."

Snarling her lips she did a double take. "And you are way over your head. You don't know me, Locksley, so don't think you do just because of a simple kiss."

He nodded, his free hand going to his face so he could scratch at the light stubble that has taken over his jaw. "Fair. I do not know you, but I think I'm starting to read into you. Took me a while to even start and haven't quite figured you out completely, but I'll get there. You can even help me a little you know?"

Once again keeping the conversation going when she knew she should cut it off, she shifted the weight of her body to her left foot and set her eyes on him. "And how's that?"

"Let's get out of this wretched sun first."

With that said, he grabbed her hand and guided her to the shadows of a few palm trees and then he made her sit with him. She went along, not even sure why. She even drank a sip of coconut water when he offered it.

"Alright. Maybe you can help by letting me in. I'm intrigued, Regina, you are an enigma wrapped in a riddle and I definitely want to figure you out. I want to get to know more of you."

Running her fingers through her hair, she sighed. "And what, now you want me to tell you all about me just because you are curious?"

"Well… yes."

She shifted uncomfortably. "I thought you already asked all you wanted to know about me through town." That was what he implied, and apparently Storybrooke's residents have been more than willing to share everything they knew.

"I did ask some, very professionally mind you, but I wouldn't say I asked everything I wanted to know."

His tone came low on his throat and she looked at him, taking quick notice on the glint in his eye.

It felt dangerous, but instead of telling him he should mind his own business instead of nosing in things that didn't concern him, she tilted her face and studied him.

"And what was it that you wanted to know?"

"Just about everything. Not the town's gossip and not what I could read from your file, but whatever I could find through you." He let the words sink in. "But you are quite a hard person to get to know; all you let people see is this… Madame Mayor that's a bit too haughty for her own good."

"Maybe that's all there is to see."

"No it isn't. But that's what you want people to think and even stranded here you try to cling so hard to that image and for some reason that makes me want to tear those walls down even more."

She puffed out a breath, tilting her head down so she could escape the way he was staring at her. "I think you'll be highly disappointed… if you did get to know me." And she really believed so, he was digging on infertile ground.

His hand came to her face and he brushed her hair behind her ear. The act made her look back up and once again their eyes ended up fixed onto one another's.

"I don't really think that's possible."

She saw his intentions from a mile away; she saw it in the way he moved closer and on the way his hand slid to the back of her head to hold her still. But even though she saw it coming, she did nothing to make it stop.

No, she just closed her eyes and allowed him to get near enough for him to end up kissing her lips. It was a chaste peek though, brief and soft as a butterfly's touch.

Pulling her face an inch away and blinking her eyes open, Regina licked her lips and blinked slowly. She wanted to ask what he was doing because she basically just told him they couldn't be kissing anymore, but the words got caught in her throat and instead she watched in silence as he leaned forward to once again close the distance and kiss her.

With this new contact, he sought entrance into her mouth and she granted it, the feeling of his tongue sneaking into her mouth to swirl against her own while his fingers buried themselves into her hair making her sigh.

He didn't linger too long though and pulling away, he smiled. "Kissing you is certainly not disappointing."

Scoffing and biting on her lips she rolled her eyes. She didn't say anything thought and just lowered her head when his thumb came to smooth her cheek.

"Let's do something tonight. I'll treat you to dinner under the stars, cozy bonfire, waterfront panorama and some exotic cuisine. You'll love it so much that you won't mind telling me more about yourself."

Scrunching her nose, Regina moved her head to him. "I don't know, that setting is getting kind of dull now." She said that because what he described was very much what the did every night since they got stranded in the Island.

"Then I'll have to find a way to make it oven more special." He didn't give her time to think about it. No, once he said that he kissed the corner of her lips and getting up to his feet he left to keep on with what he has been doing.

Regina just watched him leave, wondering what the hell happened that she didn't cut whatever it was that was going on with them as she had it planned.

And as she wondered about that, a thought came into her mind that made her snort and maybe even blush.

She thought that maybe she should go with whatever flow the current would take her because after all, what happened at the Island, stayed at the Island…


	9. Chapter 9

"Is this really necessary?" Trying to hide the uneasiness that walking around blindly provoked in her, Regina asked the question in the most neutral tone she could muster.

At least that has been her intention, but once the words rolled out of her tongue she detected the slightest hint of annoyance and she wondered if he caught it too.

He probably did as she wasn't known for being subtle, but there could also be the possibility that he didn't even notice. That last one wouldn't really surprise her, after all the tone of being annoyed or even bored was something she unconscionably added to everything she ever said to him and by then he should be used to it.

"Just bear with me here a little longer, would you?"

As a response, she just hummed. He was being silly in wanting her to close her eyes because really, there was nothing there that could surprise her. She has seen the setting and he knew it, and it was not very different from the one they would have every single evening since they arrived at the island.

There was the mandatory bonfire that served both to cook dinner and keep them warm, there was an improvised sitting area made out of the liners of some of the suitcases that seemed very convenient but hardly surprising and there were the shells of some coconuts scattered around that were lit like small candles, once again, a nice touch to have light around when night fell on them but not something flabbergasting.

"I've already seen everything there is to see here so unless you are hiding a boat to take us out this is ridiculous."

She heard him snort and he halted, "Well, Regina." He helped her sit down and feeling around with her hands she realized she was sitting on the liners. "I don't want to surprise you by showing you something but by tasting it."

Her eyes fluttered open at once because, yeah, that didn't sound so good. "What?"

"Hey, no cheating." He said and because now she could see him, she noticed he was dealing with whatever he was cooking. There was hardly anything surprising about that but she did try to get a look.

Not that he allowed it because he grabbed her chin and moved her face to the side.

"Robin." She started to say warningly as her vision was obstructed by his smiling face now. "I hate surprises."

"And by the looks of it you have very serious trust issues as well. Come on, it won't take long now."

Twisting her lips and taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes again. She heard him move around and tapping her fingers impatiently to her thigh, she waited.

Like he said, it wasn't very long because in less than a minute she felt him close. "Open your mouth."

She snorted almost nervously, thinking that the whole thing was ridiculous. She was being ridiculous too by keeping up with his little game of keeping her eyes shut. "I'm not sure about this."

His hand went to cup her cheek reassuringly, his thumb moving along her skin in a slight caress. "You can trust me. I mean I've been behaving extremely good even though I'm very tempted to kiss you. So… can you have a little faith in me?"

She shook her head but drawing in a breath she did as he asked and parted her lips for him. He was kind of right, as she knew she could trust him not to do something stupid.

"Alright." He dropped his hand from her face and the next thing she knew he was pushing pass her lips what she assumed was the food.

She took it in and once her taste buds got the hang of it she frowned. It wasn't lizard, she knew at once. The texture was different and yes, the taste too.

It had a small touch of sweetness but there was another flavor, a very distinctive one underneath that was hard to mistake.

Chewing on it and opening her eyes, she couldn't help but to smile. He had a very satisfied look in his face that corroborated what she imagined.

"You did it?" Yes, it was definitely fish and that only meant that after countless of failed attempts he finally got to catch at least one. She looked around the fire and no, there were at least three in there. "How did you do it? I mean it couldn't have been with that ridiculous lance of yours."

A laugh burst out of him as he sat by her side. "Well don't be expecting me to tell you all my secrets. Not until you tell me yours." He put in her hands a good sized leaf with the food on it and she saw that it had coconut too, hence the sweet flavor. "But we'll leave that after dinner, for now enjoy."

So they ate, and Regina had to admit that after a forced diet of eating only lizard for so long this was a good change. As a rule she was a very picky eater and this was a nice surprise for her palate9, after she was done she just had to hum in satisfaction. "That was actually good. Compliments to the chef."

"Well thank you."

Washing down the dinner with coconut water, she looked away from him and her eyes got lost in the sight in front of her; she was facing towards the shore and she couldn't help but to recognize that it was a beautiful panorama; the ocean was calm and serene, the sun was hiding far into the horizon while painting the sky in reds and oranges and the silence reining the place was pure golden.

If it wasn't because they were stuck there maybe she could enjoy the moment a little more.

"So-" Robin began to say after being done eating himself.

Regina watched him out of the corner of her eye expectantly, not really knowing what would happen now.

Yes, she kind of knew because he has made it clear that he wanted her to tell him more about herself, but even though she made no protest to that request she wasn't really looking forward for whatever it was that he wanted to know and that was why she felt antsy.

What could she say? If there was something to be said about her it was that she was a very private person. She didn't really like discussing her life because one, it was something that didn't concern anyone but herself and two, because letting someone into her privacy was to become vulnerable and to her, vulnerability was terrifying.

The courage of opening oneself to another was probably the most daunting experience to be had and it was one she once promised herself never to do again.

She has grown a thick skin around her over the years and it has worked for her; but now here was this man who openly told her he wanted in and she has done nothing but to let herself fall into that mess. Willingly.

"I just have to ask. After expanding the menu just for you, which was not easy, mind you, and putting this together with a stunning sunset for your delight, did I earn my answers?"

Shifting a little, she shrugged. "Well I can't really say until I know the questions. What is it that you want to know?"

"Whatever you want to tell me. Perhaps something about you that I don't know."

She scrunched her nose and looked at him. "I think you know all the important things there are to know." He even knew she left pretty young to attend college and the story of being engaged 'twice'. Hell, she even told him herself that Henry was adopted and that was something she didn't tell everybody.

Not that she wanted to hide it, she just didn't care to drop it in every casual conversation she could have.

"But I don't know, you say you are good at reading people so why don't you tell what you make out of me. If I think you are close enough I'll find something to tell you."

He sucked in a breath. "A challenge, I love those." He cracked his fingers and turned completely so he could face her. "Alright. So something about you… well, I'll have to start by saying this conversation is making you feel uncomfortable. In fact, everything that puts you as the center of attention makes you feel like that, at least when it has to do about your personal life. That's why you hide behind these walls you built around yourself, because you don't want people to see you. That's also why you like to portray yourself with this arrogant and even imperious image, to push people away. What else… Okay, you like throwing your snarky comments as a mechanism of defense whenever you feel out of your element, you hate not being in control or when things don't go your way and one of your biggest fears is turning out like your mother."

Regina tilted her head and squinted her eyes. She said nothing

"Close enough?"

"Not bad. Guess you earned it so let's see."

She cleared her throat and because a promise was a promise she tried to think on something to tell him. Something safe of course but with enough substance and material not to talk about deeper stuff.

"Okay. So when I left for college, I did it with the intention of never going back to Storybrooke. Everybody was so proud that I finished school a few years before my time but the truth is that it was always my intention to do it that way so that I could get out."

"Overbearing mother?"

She snorted because he had no idea. "Yes. That's why I don't want Henry anywhere near her." The woman had ruined her life and her chance of being happy and that was something she would never want for her son.

"But then you ended up going back." He pointed out.

"Things happened, I came back but not to my mother. My turn." She said with a shrug as a way to change the subject and well, because she was somewhat curious too. "Where did you learn to do all this stuff, I mean the fire and the hunting or whatever?"

"Ah." He reached for a small plastic bag they had found in one of the suitcases and from it he grabbed a handful of small grapes. They were the kind that grew wild into the jungle and offered them to her. She took some, enjoying their sweetness as she bit into them. "I spent all my summers as a lad in the woods. My parents had a little cabin by the lake and being out there means you just have to learn the basics. Then I was in The British Army for a while and I got a few tricks from there as well."

He lifted his forearm and showed her his tattoo; it was something she has noticed before but she hadn't been able to put much attention to it. But since it was there now at reaching distance she went ahead and allowed her hand to raise to it so that she could run the ball of her index finger through it.

"A military man, now that's interesting." And definitely something she wouldn't have pegged on him.

"I was. Got a nasty bloody injury that almost left me paralyzed, did therapy, went back home with a somewhat decent pension and here I am."

Dropping her hand from him, she sighed, thinking that destiny had a funny way of playing around with people. "And here you are."

Her eyes were on his and he was looking back at her in that way that he had that always made her feel entranced and she wondered if he knew the effect he was having over her.

She didn't think so because if he did, he wouldn't be wasting time talking and he would be kissing her. She wouldn't mind that, she has come to terms with the fact that there was a big chance that something physical could develop between them and she was okay with that.

With talking to him about her life not so much.

Maybe that was what she should do, grab the bull by the horns and kiss him herself. That would definitely prevent him from asking his questions and they all could be happy and get whatever it was that was happening between them off their systems.

"So if not with your mother, who would you rather have Henry with."

"Mmm." She hummed, swallowing a few more of the grapes. "It would have to be with Emma." She rolled her eyes, not quite believing she was admitting this out loud. "She's Henry's biological mother and even though the woman doesn't necessarily know what's best for him, she won't make him grow up being miserable."

"Miserable." He said in a whisper, almost as if he was savoring the word. "That's a big word right there to describe a mother."

"I'm going to take you don't know mine." And why should he? Thankfully, Cora hadn't been in Storybrooke for at least a year and Robin only has been around town for a couple of months.

"Can't say I've had the pleasure. But I've heard quite some about her reputation."

Regina only snorted.

"So how does it work, the thing with this Emma. Are you two co-parenting?"

"No. Definitely no. The Emma thing is pretty much recent; Henry wanted to know her and I somehow agreed with it. Now he goes with her every once in a while and I…"

"And you absolutely hate it."

She scoffed. "I do. I mean she's…" She rolled her eyes, half wondering why she was about to tell him this and half glad she was going to get it off her chest. "I knew Emma from college; we were not friends but I knew who she was, you know how it is. Anyway, the thing is that I randomly found out she was pregnant when she was in jail and she didn't want the baby, couldn't even keep it."

"She was in jail?" His tone came off as half amused, half surprised as he munched on his share of grapes.

"Yes, and I was the one who stepped up. Even when I didn't have anything to do with them I adopted him and took him home and for eleven years not even once did she try to be in his life. Now they talk almost every day on the phone and it's Emma this and Emma that and yes, I pretty much hate it."

"Wretched evil Emma, I'm going to hate her for your sake."

"Thank you. I'll take what I can even though I have the distinct feeling you are making fun of me."

"What? I would never. I am very serious."

Only that she knew he wasn't, but even though when he reached for her hand and took it in his she let him do it. She didn't even make a protest when he intertwined their fingers together.

"You know, when Roland's mother died he went through a phase were all he wanted was her and I couldn't do anything to make it better. He didn't like what I gave him to eat, he didn't like how I prepared a bath because it would be either too hot or to cold, he didn't even like how I put him to bed and it was bloody frustrating on top of you know, dealing with my own loss. It took me a while to understand that he wasn't being like that because he didn't want me but because he missed her and that was his way of coping. I know your boy's case is different, but I'm sure he's not acting all excited about having Emma in his life because he loves her better than you. He probably has this new thing in his life that's new and maybe thrilling but that's it. You are his mother, you'll always be and he knows it. Nobody can change that."

"You think?" She smiled at him.

"I know it."

As if moved by an invisible force, Regina leaned forward and brushed her mouth to his. It was merely a touch that allowed her to feel the softness of his lips. It was simple, it was chaste and it left her longing for more.

But she still pulled away, her eyes close and her face lowering as she took in a deep breath.

She did that as a way to gather her thoughts because sure, back when she was in the jungle washing everything from her hair to her toes, the possibility that she and Robin could step into something physical didn't feel like a big deal. Back there she saw it as something basic, they had an itch so they should scratch it and that would be it. But in that moment, she realized that things were not as easy as that.

She was tip toeing into something dangerous because Robin, whether she liked it or not was not going to be the kind who would keep going his way after a quick fumble in the dark. He wasn't Graham with whom she was able to keep things impersonal for as long as their affair lasted. No, Robin was the kind that would not give up until he tore down all her walls and that was something she didn't want.

It was as she mused about that when she felt his hands on the back of her head so that he could lift her face to his. She let him do that and she even opened her eyes to look at him.

Now, up close and personal, she couldn't help but to feel once again entranced with the lovely silvery color of his eyes, and when this time he was the one closing the distance so that their lips could meet she even tilted her face to the side and enjoyed the pressure of his kiss.

It wasn't long before she parted an entrance so that he could deepen the kiss and when he did, she sighed, enjoying the warm wet sweetness of his tongue luring hers into action, urging her to kiss him back and explore the same way she was doing with her.

And she did, she kissed him at will, letting the taste of him invade all her senses as he drank her breaths as her own

Lost into the moment, she lifted a hand to the back of his neck and then it slid up, her fingers running through his silky short hair as they kissed long and deep.

It was hard to remember why it was that she shouldn't indulge in him when she could feel him like that, so close. Maybe it was like she came into terms in her dream and this was just meant to be so she should just let it happen.

She really didn't know what to make of it, but as if her body had a mind of its own that definitely wasn't in synch with the confusion of her own brain, she lifted herself a little and without breaking from the kiss, she straddled him.

He welcomed the movement by circling her waist with his arm to bring her closer to him and she arched into him in response, her head tilting to the side so that she could change the angle of the kiss.

They went at it for several seconds, and it was only when she felt the need to take in a deep breath that she pulled away from him.

Robin took that moment to drag his lips to the spot in her throat where her pulse was beating and she had to swallow down hard, her eyelids almost closing as she delighted in the feeling.

"So is this what it takes for you to stop talking." She whispered as she lifted her chin, giving him room so that he could continue the path his lips were tracing against her flesh.

Exhaling against her, Robin pulled enough so that he could look into her stormy eyes. "It is a good way, yeah." His tone, low in his throat sent a shiver down her spine and not wanting him to notice she licked her lips and arched an eyebrow.

"Okay." She replied and before she could say another thing his mouth was claiming hers again.

He kissed her harder this time, his hands moving to her waist and then going a little lower. She could feel his fingers on the edge of her shirt and when he went back to dragging his hands up he did it underneath the fabric.

It was a subtle movement but Regina was sure it was very much premeditated, still, she made no protest and just allowed herself to enjoy the way the tip of his fingers moved up her spine.

The touch felt almost electric and she hummed against him.

It was insane if she decided to think about what she was letting happen, but for once she decided not to be the over thinker that she was and just let herself be carried into where her gut was leading her into.

That was how she slowly and without breaking the kiss rotated her hips against him, her crotch finding him already eager for her. Hissing, his teeth tugged at her lips and both his hands went lower and lower until he was crushing her ass against him.

The sensation made her gasp, occasion that he took to push his tongue back in, sliding warmly against hers while robbing the breath out of her lungs.

But after a few seconds he did pull away, his forehead resting against hers as his lips curved into one of his dimple smiles. "Regina… if you are making me sleep outside tonight you better tell me now."

Breathless, she bit on her lips and instead of answering with words, she reached for the edge of her shirt and pulled it off. Once out she went back into kissing him.

His hands moved along her back, taking on everything that was exposed. But then he grabbed the flesh of her ass and lifting her a little, he swirled around until her back ended up resting against the liners and he on top of her and right between her legs.

Apparently not wanting to waste more time, he took his shirt off too and pressed back to her, placing a kiss on her mouth and then keeping his lips moving. He kissed the corner of her lips, her chin and then he used his tongue to travel all the way to her collar bone.

The whole thing was making her breathing come out a little ragged and she had to bite hard on her lips as a way to try and get some composure. She got none, probably because he kept moving to the swell of her breast and right to the edge of her bra.

He pushed it down, exposing her into the late evening chili air.

Closing her eyes, she placed a hand to his head, her fingers burying in his hair. By then all her senses were on edge and she was aware that there was no turning back from that point, her body wouldn't allow it.

"I don't hear you talking either, is this what it takes to turn off that snarky mouth of yours?" He said, and even when his words were meant to be lighthearted, his tone came off dark and feral before taking a mouthful of her breast.

Regina sucked in a breath, her back arching automatically as his tongue lapped at her nipple and his hand squeezed her other breast.

"Shut up." She said with no conviction, her eyes closing and her fingers running through his short hair.

As a response, Robin hummed, his teeth closing lightly over her hard nipple and then sucking it into his mouth until she gasped and threw her head back.

He repeated the motion with the other one and then kept going even lower. His lips brushed down her ribcage, they stopped to place a kiss below her navel and even lower to her pubic bone.

"Wait…" She began to say in a warning when he started to take off her pants, but he hushed her and when she felt his mouth pressing against the wetness between her leg she let out a broken gasp.

Sure, the contact was through her panties, but because once her pants were out of the way he was pulling her legs apart so that even through the thin fabric, she felt it right into her core.

Bringing a hand to her mouth, she looked up into the sky. Night was starting to creep on them already and the moon was there, watching over her as she felt Robin drag his tongue against her.

"Come here." She mumbled, pulling him up. He humored her but not before rolling her underwear down her legs and out of the way. He did the same with his own clothes and after kicking them out he was back where she wanted him, kissing her senseless as his body accommodated against her.

Feeling delirious and needing to feel more, she reached between their bodies and searched with her hand until she found his erection. Once in her hand, she pulled at it slightly and rubbed it against her heated center.

He groaned into her mouth, his erection pressing insistently against her most intimate of places.

The pressure made her shiver, and when he started to push in she gasped and bit hard on her lips. Yes, it has been a long time since she engaged in such an act, but she was so wet that he had no problem settling all the way in with a single thrust.

"Fuck." He groaned, his hands moving to her hips and pulling her even closer into him.

Regina threw her head back and spread her legs more, loving the way she was being filled completely by him. Sure, the whole thing could be wrong and she would probably regret it a thousand times later on, but until then she was going to enjoy it.

Pushing her hips forward and pressing to him, the black haired woman searched for his lips and kissed him. He reciprocated, his tongue caressing hers as he began to thrust into her with a rhythm that started to make her moan softly into his mouth.

He went all the way in, settling so deep into her that she couldn't say where one started and the other one ended. It was too much, the feeling of him filling her completely, the way he was drinking her moans into his kiss… it was enough to make her feel feverish. He was making her feel as if she was burning and she was about to lose it.

"You like it?" He moaned, one of his hands reaching down on her and making his thumb run against her clit.

"Yes."

That did it, one flicker and she felt the pressure let go and next thing she knew she was moaning softly and shivering against him.

Through it all, she couldn't help but to think how she just forgot how amazing it felt to come undone like that and she almost laughed, thinking that it was ridiculous that she just did it with Robin Locksley no less.

Now, as she rode her climax down, he never ceased to thrust into her or to touch her. No, his movements became harder and his thumb never stopped touching her.

The sensation was so amazing that her limbs were failing her, she couldn't feel her legs and she was fighting hard against the need of screaming her pleasure away. It was just… amazing.

"Don't hold it, I want to hear you." He whispered into her ear.

A broken gasp escaped her and her legs went to automatically circle around his waist while her arms went around his neck.

The rest went on the same line; in a symphony of deep breaths and soft moans, Robin began to roll his hips against hers, her own hips shooting up to meet him half way and thus sending him all the way in into her.

They kissed all the while, but at one point he pulled away from her lips and she felt his movements become erratic and she knew he was close. "I'm going to pull out." He said in a dark tone and she shook her head no.

If he kept going like that, she was going to come undone once again and that was something she wanted desperately. True, she knew that she should let him finish out now, but if he could hold it a while longer…

Besides it wasn't like there would be consequences if he didn't make it.

"Just a minute."

He snorted. "I don't think… shit, Regina. I don't have a minute." He groaned, his erection throbbing warm and thick into her and she wrapped her legs tight around him. She wanted him there, in her.

"It's okay."

Her words were followed by a low growl from him and then she felt it, his warm essence sprouting out of him. That right there was something that sent a shock of pleasure all along her body and even though she loved it, she couldn't believe that not only did she allowed it, but that she encouraged it.

That was something she just didn't do, and the few lovers she has taken after Daniel were not even allowed into thinking about finishing inside of her. But here was Robin and just feeling how intimate the moment was made her tremble and before she knew it, her inner walls were contracting with the force of her own orgasm.

This one was stronger than the last one and this time she did moan loudly; her eyes rolling, all her muscles tensing and her sex throbbing.

After that, time went by in a blur, she was only dimly aware that after he collapsed to her side, he laughed and said something about the whole thing being amazing.

She agreed and kissed him when he searched for her lips, the same way she agreed when he said they should get into the shelter.

Once there he helped her clean up and then when he was back to her side dozing off and holding her close, she just let it happen.

Now, that night was the first time since they crashed into the Island were she spent an entire evening without feeling desperate over the fact that they were not being rescued.

For some reason that struck her as ridiculously funny… that was the last thing she remembered thinking before dozing off as well...


	10. Chapter 10

It was going to rain.

She didn't need the dark clouds looming over them to know that; no, by then all her senses were on sync with everything Island related and her nose could detect the powerfully evocative smell of approaching rain.

The sweet aroma swirled around her, and even if it wasn't for the scent she would have known by the way the breeze seemed to pick up, provoking her skin to be flooded with goosebumps.

Closing her eyes, she breathed into the fresh air and once again she wondered why she was there, in the water, laying on her stomach when she could be somewhere else, probably dry and maybe even dozing off.

Sure, it wasn't like her to be taking naps in the middle of the day but it was just that the gloomy weather did incite idleness in her and with everything so calm she was feeling kind of drowsy.

It didn't help either that she got zero sleep the night before. Not that there was anyone to blame but herself for than one but yes, she was sleepy.

But she wasn't going to indulge, in her mind it just wouldn't feel right to be warm and comfortable in the shelter while Robin was out setting his improvised fishing 'net'. Especially not after the one she pulled on him the previous night.

The memory of it still made her cringe internally and she wondered how it was that he greeted her with a smile that morning. She was sure as hell that if it would have been the other way around and he would have been the one telling her what she told him, she wouldn't be sending smiles his way like ever again.

But maybe that was why she was there, because she knew she needed to apologize.

There was that and there was also the fact that it was nice being there; despite the fact that the breeze was starting to become chilly, the water was oddly warm and the soft caress of it against her skin was relaxing.

It was weird… but even when she knew that she was about to do two of the things that she disliked more than anything in the world, she was feeling such a deep sense of calmness that only corroborated that she was doing the right thing.

Blinking her eyes open, she took a look over her shoulder and saw him at once. He was deeper into the ocean, crouching down in a spot where a few huge rocks lay scattered around while doing whatever it was that he needed to do to catch his fishes. All she knew about that was that he was setting the net and then he would go back later on to grab what he caught.

That was, of course, if it didn't start raining. She has seen how wild the ocean could get when it was raining and she was sure as hell not going to let him get into the water if the whether turned bad.

She didn't care that the mood between them turned sour just three days after the night they finally gave into temptation and he could protest all he wanted, but if she didn't think it was safe he just wasn't going to go back there.

Turning on her back and supporting her weight with her elbows, Regina changed positions so that she could end up being half sitting. She was facing in his direction that way so clearing her throat, she decided to break the silence.

"It's going to pour so any chances you are going to finish anytime soon… today?"

At her words, Robin looked her way and smiled. He smiled at her again and that made her feel even worse about how things turned out.

"You know you don't have to wait for me there, right?" He said from his spot, apparently having no intention to be done.

Regina sighed, brushing a rebel strand of hair out of her face. In any other occasion she would deny that she was there because she was waiting for him, but because she was tired of pretending she just shrugged. "I know."

From his place on top of the rocks he was using to stand, Robin looked down on her with half closed eyelids, probably because he was trying to read on her; and as he did that she couldn't help but to think that he looked really wild up there; sunburned skin, hair spiked, shirtless, eyes shinning intently… it was definitely an interesting sigh.

She wasn't sure if she was noticing him like that because now she knew how his bare skin felt against hers and how deep those eyes could dig into hers when in the brim of his passion, but the fact was that with each day that passed, she found herself even more entranced by him.

She was inexplicably drawn by everything that he was and she came to the conclusion that it was because he was the kind of man you couldn't unseen once you really saw him and yes, she has definitely seen him.

There was no point of fighting it, she knew it, and because of that it was that she was there.

Keeping her eyes glued on his, she saw how he blew out a breath and jumped out of the rocks he was standing in before starting to make his way to where she was.

Regina just watched as he first swam and now walked towards her; then once he was close enough he sat down by her side, his eyes reaching down to meet hers.

He didn't say anything though and it came into her mind that he probably wasn't mad, but he wasn't pleased either.

It was her fault though because she screwed up over something so stupid. She still didn't get how it came to happen because really, everything was going fine despite the fact that they were still stranded.

But even though that not so little inconvenience, after that first night they were together the interaction between them obviously changed and she could say that for the better.

Sure, the first morning when she woke up very much naked and tangled with him, she thought that things were going to be awkward, but surprisingly there was nothing of that and her psyche got set into full acceptance mode that things with him were now different.

It has been good. During the day he was attentive without throttling her and during the nights they would either succumb to their passion or spend the night talking. Obviously, he was the one doing most of the talking and his never-ending questions, but because everything was kept lighthearted, she didn't even mind.

And then, there came last night.

She couldn't remember how it started, but for some reason he told her about his wife, Roland's mother and about how she died. She has listened in silence, for some reason her mood dropping because she knew that after telling her something of that nature, he was going to start asking big questions about her own past.

She saw it coming before it probably occurred to him, and when it finally came she was already feeling cranky.

She tried to evade the subject, but he threw a comment about how her elusiveness was probably because of some unresolved issue she didn't want to face and that really pissed her off. Especially when he implied that maybe if she talked about it she could start leaving whatever was bothering her behind.

That has been it for her and she just had to open her big mouth and send everything straight to hell.

"_You know, that I ended up sleeping with you doesn't mean I want to play therapy session with you and it doesn't mean you get to know me. So keep your cheap psychology to yourself and stop trying to get in my mind."_

After that she got to her feet and went into the shelter. Obviously, not before she got to see the way his expression changed.

It has been a cheap shot from her part, not the worse she has ever done but definitely not something that made her proud. She has wanted to take it back as soon as it came out of her mouth, but she was too arrogant for that.

Now she was going to swallow her pride and do what she should have done the night before.

Breathing in and making sure not to drop her gaze, she shrugged and straightened up so that she could sit as well. "I want to apologize about what I said last night."

His eyebrows shot up as she was sure he wasn't expecting that.

But before he could say something, she kept on. "I got in full defensive mode… I tend to do that when I feel uncomfortable. I bite back and I know it's not an excuse but-"

Taking her hand, Robin interrupted her. "Regina. The last thing I want is to make you feel uncomfortable."

She rolled her eyes but kept her hand in his, her face momentarily lowering down so she could see how his much larger one engulfed hers. "Just let me finish, okay." Clearing her throat, she took in a deep breath, trying to figure out how she was going to do it.

Opening up. That was something she just didn't do, and even though last night she was mad because of what he said, she could see now that he was right. What happened to her was always going to be a barrier that separated her from the rest of the world if she didn't face it; she knew it so it wasn't like she was in denial, but the thing was she just didn't know how to let it out.

"You were right. I don't like talking about my past because it's something that… it brings out so many different feelings that even to this day I don't know how to deal with. I get angry and upset and…" She snorted and rolled her eyes again. "I just don't like to mentally go back to where I was back then."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't feel like it."

"Just shut up and let me talk." She snapped.

Jesus, here she was about to take a huge step and he insisted on interrupting her. Now she didn't know how to continue so she guesses she would have to start from the beginning of it all.

"Before I left Storybrooke, I was dating a boy from school. His name was Daniel and… well because he wasn't from a family 'socially accepted' under my mother's standard we kept it under the rug. To make a long story short he went off to college and I followed him."

She remembered how she had fallen head over heels and how liberating it has been to leave her mother's nest to go and live free. She has been so young and naïve and it felt like she her owned the world, because of that she foolishly she let her guard down.

"We got a few good years… until my mother found out. You see, she was a very influential woman and extremely controlling so she tried to manipulate everyone around what she wanted. She started by forcing Daniel's parents out of their property unless he would end things with me and obviously, she demanded that I return back home. I think I was around twenty so I was basically still a kid and totally dependable on my parents financially so she tried to get me through that. She even engaged me to this man, Leopold. He doubled my age but he was a very wealthy man and my mother thought he was the kind of person I needed. That's where the rumors of my first engagement came from, because she even announced it in the newspaper even though I wasn't anywhere near town."

And what an uproar that caused.

"Things got a little out of hand and being the stupid kid that I was I confronted her and refused, then I got engaged to Daniel on top of the one she arranged and… well, I got pregnant. It wasn't planned but we didn't care and… we were so stupid. I was stupid. And because I refused to do what she wanted me to do she sent one of her bodyguards to keep an eye on us. At the end when I was about to give birth we decided to elope, he had this old car that wasn't really in the best conditions but were so sure it would get us to the West Coast where we were going to start from zero and be a family and you know, all those silly dreams kids have when they know nothing."

She paused, scrunching her nose.

"But the man my mother sent followed us. We tried to loose him but what we ended up doing was getting ourselves into this nasty accident where… where he died. The baby too and… I ended up pretty banged up. I was told my chances of getting pregnant again were basically none existent so you know, I was all kinds of messed up back then." She shrugged, blinking rapidly as a way to prevent herself from crying. "I was in a very dark place afterwards. I shut myself from everyone, I was angry with the world, with my mother and more than anything else I blamed myself for so long that… I just became this empty person and I, I don't know I just felt blank."

Robin lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles and she used that opportunity to wipe her eyes.

"I've never talked about that before." And it oddly felt like she dropped a ten thousand pound cadaver from her back, a weight she hadn't even know she was carrying. "I don't even know why I'm telling you because trust me, I don't like letting people in. You were right about that, after all that I built these walls around me and that's the way it has been ever since."

Putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her to him, Robin kissed her forehead. She rested her head to his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Regina, I am really sorry all that happened to you but you know, if there is something I've come to comprehend is that sometimes in life we go through things that seem senseless and unfair and that we don't get to understand and… it's okay to be mad and rage and mourn, but it's also okay to keep living after. We don't have to be defined by the things that happened to us and well, moving on doesn't mean we get to forget, it means we are willing to give ourselves a new chance."

"I know." She said, very aware that he could understand half her pain because he also lost someone. But at the same time he couldn't know how it felt to wake up every single day of your life consumed in self loathing by knowing you were responsible of ruining so many lives.

It was just that… her recklessness came with a huge cost and that was something that would always hang over her.

But she wasn't going to say that, no, that was for her to know only and besides, now that she got it all off her chest she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"I took me a while too but I think that's one of the best lessons I've learn in life. That there is going to be sadness in our journey, but there will also be beauty and that's what we have to hold onto. We have to keep going."

Nodding, she lifted her face and kissed him. Just a peck.

Then, wanting to change the brooding mood a little, she blew out a breath. "You owe me a drink. I believe I told you I would need a few of those before ever discussing my mommy issues with you and well, I went deeper than that and right now I feel like I need to get drunk out of my mind."

Giving her hand a squeeze, he chuckled. "Sounds fair. What about Thursday, Granny's has karaoke night."

Despite the somewhat depressing nature of their previous conversation, Regina laughed at that. The sound burst out of her before she could hold it but she didn't mind, as she didn't want to spend the rest of the day upset over the ghosts of her past.

"I will never go to a karaoke night in Storybrooke, let alone at Granny's."

"Why, I'm bloody good at karaoke." He said almost indignantly. "I also happen to play from time to time there with a couple of the guys. Or with Ariel, I'm her guitar player."

"I don't know why that doesn't surprise me." And it really didn't because he definitely fit the mold; friendly, cheerful, sometimes annoyingly so, he was just the kind who in just a few months knew and got along with everyone and their mothers while in Storybrooke.

"You should really drop by sometime. I mean besides the obvious good music, Ruby makes this insane homemade-" He stopped there and snorted. "You know what, forget about the last thing I said as I don't think it's even legal and she would kill me if you ended up raiding the place."

Opening her mouth and then clasping it shut, Regina hummed. She didn't know what to say without sounding like the Mayor that she was.

"Guess I can warn her before hand because Granny's afterhours it's the best place in town to go without you know, getting into too much trouble."

"So guitar player, uh?" She said, but just because there was not much to add without coming off too condescending. "He hunts, he cooks, he builds shelters and can start a fire out of nothing and now he also plays the guitar."

"I'm quite a catch, I know, you don't have to say it."

Running the tip of her tongue against the edge of her teeth, she arched an eyebrow. "And humble…"

"And ridiculously handsome."

She chuckled at how smug he was acting but because she knew he was just messing with her she played along. "Yeah, how could I forget?"

Snorting, he scratched along his stubble "Talking about being insanely good looking, I have to confess something. When I was sent to Storybrooke I was expecting you to be… let's say I was not expecting you to look the way you do."

"The way I do? What's that even supposed to mean?" She asked roughly, her head backing a little so that she could have a better look at him.

"Come on, you know you're quite a stunner and that wasn't what I expected. Now your attitude did leave much to be desired, mind you."

She shrugged, very aware that what he was saying was true. She hadn't been amicable with him and instead has been more on the cold side. But what could she say? She was a very territorial person and after being in office for years, she didn't take it so well when they sent an auditor to monitor her.

"I'm the Mayor, not Miss Congeniality so the attitude serves me well."

"I bet it does."

"As for going to Granny's, I don't think that's actually a good idea. I mean it wouldn't be very ethical from the Mayor and her auditor going out in public like that. In fact this right here," She said pointing to the two of them. "It's a serious conflict of interest."

Meaning that in the Island it was okay to do what they were doing because there were going to be no consequences, but in Storybrooke it could cost him his job and she was never going to be re-elected.

"I'm pretty sure we are breaking some rules if not the law here. We are being unprofessional."

"Bollocks." He said and she noticed the way his eyes held hers with that special glint they would get every time he looked at her. "What's the point of living if we have to follow all the rules?"

She arched an eyebrow. "Wow. And this comes from the man they sent to monitor my every step as Mayor so that I won't-."

Lowering his face to hers, he cut her off by kissing her. He kissed her long and deep for a while before pulling away. "Oh, but I am monitoring your every step. And kissing you all over, and touching you…" He moved his lips to the side of her face and bit into her earlobe, meanwhile, his hands went to her thigh and squeezed. "I'll have to report that you got me completely captivated. And that the more I get of you the more I want. This sure has to be a trick of yours."

Biting on her lips, she smiled as his hands sneaked underneath her pants. But before he could reach what he was probably aiming for his hand halted and his face moved from hers.

"Regina, can I tell you something without having you freak out?" He whispered, his breath caressing her shoulder softly.

After asking her that, his eyes moved back to hers and once again she found herself submerged deep into his sparkling blue colored eyes.

"What?"

"There is a turtle of gigantic proportions crawling its way to us."

His eyes were still on hers and for a moment she was sure he was saying that just to… hell, she didn't know why. "Really?" She asked frowning and he just nodded at her.

Kind of hesitant, she moved her head a bit to the side and with the corner of her eye she saw that he was not lying like at all. There was a giant turtle dragging itself through the sand and on its way to the water.

I wasn't exactly coming their way, but it was close enough.

Parting her lips slightly, she watched amazed the slow progress of the creature. "Oh wow." She turned around and lay on her stomach so that she could have a better look.

As she watched, she felt Robin resting his body over hers. "Maybe she just lay down her eggs, I think that's the only time they come out of the sea."

"Do you think the eggs are safe, shouldn't we move them so they will not be eaten by… I don't know, the lizards? We can bury them or something."

"Well, I don't know about you but I happen to know that turtles are a delicacy in some parts of the world so I don't know, we could eat that one; I can easily take it down and there's a lot of meat there. We can even use the shell for something."

"What? No way Robin." She gasped and tried to push him off.

"Hey calm down, I wasn't being serious. We'll only eat the eggs, a dozen of them sound great right now." Now as he said that, she could listen to him chuckle and before she could try to push him off again, he grabbed her hips and made her turn around.

With that new position, he ended up right on top of her.

"Is food the only thing you can think of?" With her eyes half closed, she watched as he ran his tongue along his smirking lips, probably considering his words before speaking them out loud.

"Not really." He left it at that, but because she could feel the way his not so subtle erection was pressing to her thigh, she pretty much had a good guess of what also occupied his mind.

She couldn't blame him, with him so close she could feel her skin vibrating in anticipation of feeling all of him and she was having a very strong desire to kiss him.

So, getting carried away by the moment, she lifted her face to him and kissed him. He took charge by moving his hand to the back of her neck to hold her in place and a tingling sensation formed in her groin as his tongue slid in to touch hers briefly.

But then, before she could get used to the feeling of him it all ended too soon. After that brief kiss he pulled apart and went back to sitting on his knees; however, his eyes remained glued to hers.

"What you told me earlier, I'm glad you know you can trust me enough to talk to me."

Sitting down and lowering her eyes, she used her hands to gather some water to pour over the parts of her arms and thighs that were partly covered in sand.

"Thanks for listening, I guess." She looked up, noticing that the sky has turned almost black. "Still going to pour."

"Yes." And just like that his mouth claimed hers once again and all she could concentrate on was on the way his lips searched for hers, on the way his tongue melted against her own and on the feeling of his hand sneaking underneath her shirt to roam freely up her spine.

Between the kiss and his electric touch she knew that if they kept like that things were going to get out of control really soon. So pulling away, she bit on her lips and wrinkled her nose.

"Let's take this to the shelter."

"Why, are trying to seduce me, Madame Mayor, because that would be highly unprofessional of your part. You give me no other choice than to report you." Now maybe he said that as a joke, but his voice was so low that Regina could almost breathe on it. Then after saying that, he moved his lips right underneath her jaw and started to kiss his way around her throat.

One of her hands went to his back as she felt his skin around, but just when she was thinking that they could easily give into desire right there he got to his feet and made her go up as well.

Not that he had any apparent intention of giving up on what he was doing, because when she was up he wrapped his arms around her upper thighs and lifted her up.

Surprised, she laughed and her own arms went around his neck.

"You really don't know how much I love to hear you laugh."

She sucked in a breath at the way he was looking at her, but just when she was about to reply her eye caught something in the distance and she just had to look.

Her smile froze and then died on her face as she dropped her hands from him, and for a wild-irrational moment she had the urge to grab Robin and hide with him back in the jungle. But then he turned and he looked as well and he let her slowly slide back to the ground.

That's how she knew that he saw it too.

There, in the ocean and not too far them now was a huge yatch; just what she has been waiting since the moment she first stepped into that place. It was their ticket out of there and it was coming their way…


	11. Chapter 11

As the day moved forward and dusk fast approached, a bitter cold breeze that swept all around her made her shiver under its unmerciful touch.

It was kind of annoying because it was messing up with her hair by making it swirl in all directions and no matter how many times she would brush it behind her ears it was still getting wild and in her face.

That was something she definitely wouldn't be missing. The bizarre weather that edged into the extremes, because in that Island if it wasn't raining or about to rain then it was suffocatingly hot.

Right now it was the first one and taking in a deep breath, she ran the palms of her hands along her arms, hoping the friction will provide her with some warmth that could keep the cold away.

Doing that warmed her up a little, but only to a certain degree because she still felt like she was one step away from freezing.

It was probably because she allowed the breeze to dry her soaking clothes while she was wearing them, but there was not much to do about that now.

Sighing, she lifted her eyes to the sky and wondered when it was going to start pouring; after all she could recognize the sings; a breeze that chilled you to the bone, a black canopy of a sky with big clouds that seemed about to explode over them, a sea that was starting to rebel and waves going wild, throwing tantrums in protest of what was coming.

So yes, it was going to rain and by the looks of it very soon.

Still embracing herself, she ventured to take a look to the coast; it was not the first time her eyes were drawn there and like all the previous times she got transfixed by what she saw there.

She stared with a mix of awe and dread taking possession over her and provoking yet another shiver to run down her spine.

Robin noticed that, and maybe he thought her body involuntary trembled as a manifestation of the cold because he turned in her direction and casually wrapped his arm around her, bringing her closer to him so that he could share with her the warmth of his body.

He did that without ceasing his conversation, a conversation that for some reason she was not following as closely as she knew she should.

But she has been, at first she has been listening very carefully to every single detail and trying to memorize all the important information provided… but somewhere along the way her thoughts drifted and went far away.

But now she was back and realizing that she should pay more attention, she snuggled against Robin, taking comfort not only on his body heat but also on his touch as she made an attempt to focus in what was going on there.

Now, venturing another lingering glance at the men sitting in front of them, her lips quirked into a small grimace as she watched them through critical eyes.

Them with their leather clothing, suspicious jewelry and incredulous smiles couldn't believe they have been in the Island for so long. They also couldn't believe they survived a plane crash.

She didn't know what it was but she did not like them nor would she trust them.

So yes… it was true that she has wanted this to happen for a long time, that she has been waiting anxiously for this moment ever since she set foot in that island; but when she hoped and dreamed for it to happen she was kind of waiting for a rescue boat by the Coast Guard or maybe even a helicopter with real rescue guys in uniforms an all that.

But no, of course that was not what they got.

Maybe it was that she didn't specify what she wanted in her prayers because what they got there was a handful of guys that looked like they just came out of a Pirates of The Caribbean Movie… only that dressed in leather and rubies on their fingers. It was ridiculous.

They definitely looked dubious as hell and to be honest she wasn't sure if she wanted to get in that yacht with them.

Now, it could be that she was letting a first impression guide her judgment in that situation, but it wasn't like she could help it. After all their appearance did add to her doubts.

"Well… this is a real situation we got ourselves into." The one who appeared to be the leader said in his thick accent. "But I'll tell you what, you are lucky we stopped here. Really lucky."

From their talk earlier on, Regina knew that their yacht's control panel went wild and all their electronic devices stopped working a few miles away from the island so that they stopped there has been purely random.

It was still to be seen if they had been indeed really lucky with their arrival.

"Take you out, that we can do. But what we can't do is this." The man began to say in his broken English, looking at both Robin and Regina in turns. "No police no monkey business. There is a town not far where we can take you. It's not pretty but there you can find help to go back home."

"Okay." This time it was Robin the one who spoke. "Sounds fair… and we really appreciate it. Now is there a way we can contact our families from your boat."

"No phones. Maybe in open water my men can call if you give them the phone numbers."

Straightening up, Regina cleared her throat and scratched hard along her neck because she didn't like any of what was happening.

Those men could be anything from modern pirates to drug dealers and they were about to sail away with them. What if they were willingly walking into a kidnapping? What if they used their families numbers to ask for ransom?

But Robin agreed to everything that was being said and she had no other choice than to bite her tongue and hope for the best.

After some small talk that for some reason that totally eluded her included football, the leader announced that they were leaving and he gave them a few minutes to gather their stuff and prepare to board the yacht.

He then went away and left one of his men with them, waiting.

Now, there was not much to bring back, but she still took one of her suitcases and go into the shelter, gathering a few essentials and throwing them in as her mind raced and her heart beat wildly.

She didn't know what it was, but there was something going on here that she didn't like.

"Seems like we'll be out of here soon, uh?"

Taking in a deep breath, Regina turned her face in time to see Robin getting into the shelter. There was not much room for them in here so when she tried to turn in his direction she practically collided with him.

He took that moment to set his hands over her hips, just holding her in place as she searched for his eyes. "Robin, I really don't know about this." She confessed in a worried tone as the silvery blue that were his eyes delved deep into her own.

"Regina, this is our only chance to get out of here, you know that, don't you?" He said in a whisper as his hand lifted to her face so that his thumb could caress her check softly.

The touch was reassuring and she closed her eyes, breathing into the moment. He was right, and after spending almost ten whole days in that place she wanted nothing more than to get out.

"I know, but those men… there is something about them that I don't like; did you see their clothes and their huge rings? And what about the thing of them calling our families?"

"I can't argue about that but we can't be picky, we can either go with them or stay here. If we stay here we might never get out, this is a chance we need to take."

"I know." She nodded, chewing on her lips a little as she looked at him. Her fingers moved to his hand, tracing a path up his wrist and then down again, repeating the motion and just enjoying the moment of closeness before they had to embark into a new journey. "I know."

He smiled, his eyes shining into hers, and because his hand was still on her face he used his thumb to trace the outline of her mouth. "So let's do this."

With that said, they gathered the things they were taking with them and when they were done they went out to the man and then to the yacht.

Regina knew she should be happier about the whole thing, but part of her was antsy about the way they were leaving. She didn't know what to think of it so she just silently stood in a corner and remained still.

As the yacht started moving, Robin got himself behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. As he held her, she kept her gaze fixed on the awful island, watching it until it disappeared in the distance and until there was nothing left for her to see but the blue ocean extending to the infinite. That's when it started to rain.

"Oh I knew it." She hissed while looking up, watching the rain fall upon them; not long after that she heard the man they had been talking to earlier on calling for them to get down a set of stairs that were going to take them to a place where they wouldn't get wet.

They did as he said, and when they got down there she found herself amazed by the luxury of it all.

"I imagine after being in the island so long you suffered a lot of discomforts. Not anymore."

The man, whose name was apparently Juma, said as he flashed their way a confident grin, golden tooth and all.

It made Regina wonder what the hell had they gotten themselves into?

"Will you be wanting food up or in the room?"

"In the room would be okay." She said through clenched teeth before she could think about it. "Thank you."

"Good, I tell my men to bring it to you. Here it is your cabin." He showed them into a room, a big room. "Be comfortable and food will be delivered in one hour or two."

"What about about calling our families?" Regina blurted out because she really needed to contact home so that Henry would know she was okay.

But the man just smiled at her question, tilting his head to the side as his eyes scanned hers.

"Yes. Very important, give my man here the numbers and when food is ready we tell you what happen."

Robin's hand came to rest at her waist and she was glad at the contact, because whatever it was that was going on, she knew that if he was with her, everything would be all right.

"We really appreciate it. After so much time without hearing from us they have to be worried and it would come as a relief to know we are fine." Robin tried a different approach and she held her breath, waiting.

"Oi, they will like that, they will be surprised as well as they all think you die. It is all over the news. But anyhow, we tell you after food in one hour."

With that said he grabbed the notepad with the telephones' numbers they provided and walked away, leaving her frozen where she stood.

"Dead?" Henry thought she was dead?

As she snorted at the absurdity of everything that was happening, Robin pushed her into the room and closed the door behind them. She walked automatically to the bed and allowed her body fall on it, the feeling of the soft mattress beneath her body heavenly.

"I'm dead?" She asked as Robin got in the bed as well.

"Well you don't look dead to me."

"Oh my God I bet my mother made a spectacle out of my funeral." And Henry, she could not stop thinking about how was he dealing with everything. And was he with Emma or God forbid, with her mother? "This is bad, like really, really bad."

He snorted as his hand settled on her hip, but before he could even utter a word she groaned.

"Robin-" She sat up and looked at him. His eyes were fixed on hers and there was something about the way he was looking at her that made her forget about whatever it was that she was going to say.

He probably noticed the concern in her eyes because his hand went to her face and he started to trace her features with his fingers. "I think you might be overreacting a little."

"You know I'm not. What if we are being kidnapped?" She asked, feeling glad that it was her assistant's number the one she gave.

She would have rather let them call Henry but she didn't even know where he was now that she was officially dead. Besides, if it was really a kidnapping the boy wouldn't need to be the one dealing with such a mess.

"Regina, I'm sure everything will be alright, and in the worst case scenario we can always jump into the ocean and swim to the nearest island."

She snorted despite herself. "Been there, done that and trust me, I don't want to do it again."

"Why not? Last time wasn't-"

Without letting him finish, she leaned forward and kissed him. It was an act of impulse she shouldn't have done in the situation they were in, but whatever doubt she could have disappeared as soon as her lips met his and he kissed her back.

It was the best way she could think about how to distract herself because really, if she didn't find something to keep her mind from reeling out of control she was going to get hysterical.

And kissing him… it was something that she liked doing and in a matter of nothing her wild thoughts hid in the back of her brain so she could focus only on sensation.

It was amazing with the ease in which she let herself be carried away because as it always happened whenever their lips met, just a few seconds into it and he began to burn a fire within her that begged for him to appease it. He kissed her slow and deep at first, almost as if it was the first time he was doing it, and the more they kissed the harder the fire burnt.

Robin… she didn't know how he was making her feel like that, but when his hands slid down her back until they found the edge of her shirt to take it off, everything else vanished from her mind.

She could just feel, feel the way he pushed her back into the soft mattress, feel the way his body accommodated itself on top of her and right between her legs and feel how his hardness pushed insistently into her very core.

It was unfortunate that they were still clothed, but still, her hips shot up to met him, to grind herself against him and the sweet sensation of what could happen there overwhelmed her.

She wanted more, she needed it… and probably sensing her eagerness he moved the palms of his hands to grab her ass to pull her even more closer if that was possible and she just had to gasp into his mouth.

She kissed him feverishly and he responded in kind as she grabbed hard onto him, her hands roaming underneath his shirt, looking for more.

"Take it off." She breathed out and as he did she took a moment to drink on the image of him.

His eyes were dark, his lips parted and a slight blush that nothing had to do with his sunburnt skin had taken over his cheeks.

He was a sight to be seen and she pushed herself off the mattress to sit and kiss him again.

As the kiss was renewed, her restless hands went from his waist and up to his sides, enjoying the smoothness of his skin and then the firmness of his flat stomach. He felt strong underneath her touch, and when the pad of her fingers kept exploring until she reached his arms, she loved the feeling of his toned muscles.

He took the opportunity to unclasp her bra and threw it away, his hands doing his own exploring everywhere they could touch.

"You're perfect, have I told you that?" His voice, so low in his throat made her tremble and when lowered his face to place a kiss on her collarbone, she hummed. Then he dragged his lips down to her breast and he kissed her there too.

Opening her moistened lips but not saying a word, she blinked slowly. Part of her wanted to reply that no, that she was far from perfect but she knew it was just bedroom talk so she decided to say nothing; instead what she did was search inside his pants as his lips closed over one of her hard nipples, the warmness of his tongue swirling against her enough to make feel needy for more.

Enjoying the feeling, she reached for the bulge between his legs and wrapped her fingers around him. He was hard and hot and smooth, all of that at the same time and she had to use her whole hand to have a good feel of him, her palm sliding up and then down so she could get the whole length of him.

"I want this." She whispered, her voice raspy in his ear.

As a response he sucked in a shaky breath before applying a little bit of suction to his ministrations, sucking her flesh into his mouth while his hand went to squeeze her other breast.

Her eyes closed and she grabbed him harder in her hand, her nose catching on the distinct scent that distinguished him. It was a fresh mix of ocean water and something deeper that was so purely him that was simply intoxicating.

"I want it now."

"Why the hurry?" He smirked, claiming her lips once more and making her lay flat on the bed again. He didn't linger though and pulling away and even climbing off the bed, he took off the rest of his clothes before doing the same to her.

Holding her breath and her eyes full on him, Regina watched as he pulled her legs apart, lowered himself into a crouching position over the floor and then dragged her to the edge of the mattress. Once she was close enough to him, he leaned his face forward and placed his lips to her inner thigh.

He kissed along her flesh, making her tremble in anticipation.

"Robin…" Gulping hard and lifting a hand so she could touch his hair, she called his name as if in a warning.

For some reason she felt tense and she randomly thought that he definitely wanted to torture her. Yes, she knew because he then started to little by little move his lips higher up her flesh until his nose was almost brushing against her sex.

"Do you want to kill me here?" She asked through clenched teeth because really, what she wanted was something hard and fast and he apparently wanted to take his time.

Which wasn't necessarily bad, but she wasn't sure if it was what she needed at the moment.

"You are a very impatient woman, Regina. Relax." Saying that, his lips brushed lightly against her lower lips and at the sensation she sucked in a breath. But instead of keeping the contact, he just pulled her legs even farther apart and watched her, his eyes drinking on the perfect image that was her in all her vulnerability.

But then it happened, before she could beg him to do something, anything, he made his tongue dart forward and he licked his way from her slit and all the way up to her clit.

Unable to hold it, Regina moaned and he took that as an encouragement to go even farther; licking, sucking and closing his lips against her burning flesh as she slowly started to give in into the moment.

It wasn't necessarily what she was looking for but it felt so good that she didn't care. She could feel the tension building in the pit of her stomach already and her hand went to her mouth so she could bit on her knuckles. The other hand was still on his hair, keeping him in place.

As he kept on, from time to time she would emit a series of low moans that seemed to be torn right from the most secret part of her being and even though she was trying to keep them away, most of them escaped her lips. She wasn't sure who could be listening outside and she definitely didn't want to be heard.

"That's it…" He whispered darkly against her. "Let me know how much you like it… show me."

Her back arched off the mattress and she let out a low groan, and as he continued feasting off her flesh she lost it, her moans started to come more often and her hips started moving forward as her fingers began pulling softly at his hair so that he could go deeper and stronger.

Then in a matter of nothing she bit hard on her lips and she came undone as he flickered his tongue around her one more time; that was it for her and with his mouth pressing into her she let go.

And Robin, he held her hips in place and took all she had to give. He even pushed his tongue deep into her before pulling away and climbing on top of her. Then before she could completely ride down from her climax, he pushed himself into her contracting entrance.

He hissed as he entered her but before he could speak she pulled his head down so she could kiss him.

Now, the full weight of his naked body resting against her felt divine and she wrapped her legs around him, she wanted to feel him as deep as he could go. With that angle he had no problem reaching where she wanted him and loving how that felt she kept kissing him.

Panting and breathing hard into the kiss, she ran her hands down his back. His whole body felt as if sculpted in hard muscles and she couldn't get enough of him. Then it was the friction of his groin against her as his hardness pushed deep into her, his tempo becoming more insistent, even harder…

It was insane, it felt intense and maybe she asked him to go even more harder, she wasn't sure; all she knew was that their hips started to search frantically for each other as they held onto one another almost desperately.

After she urged him to he started slamming into her as she has wanted him, hard and fast and rendering her completely under his mercy.

It was exactly what she needed and before she could help it she was a goner once again. The feeling was so overwhelming that she had to release his lips so she could gasp out loud. "Robin… don't stop, don't stop."

As she rode down her climax, his lips went to her throat and bit lightly before smoothing her skin with his tongue, "Is this how you want it?"

"Yes." She groaned, feeling as if she was burning inside out, then right after saying that she searched for his mouth and kissed him, her tongue taking control of the situation.

She touched everywhere her hands could reach and her fingers ended up burying into his hair. It wasn't long after that he stiffened in her arms and then with a shudder, she felt as he started to empty himself inside of her. He didn't warn her this time but not really caring, she just focused on the little details… on how he was breathing hard through his nose, on how his body tensed and how his rhythm turned erratic.

He even pulled away from the kiss and just rested his forehead to hers, his mouth close to her own but not quite touching.

It wasn't until he growled and rolled his hips to hers one last time that he closed the distance and kissed her lightly.

For a while neither one said anything, they just focused on getting their breathing back to normal and waited for the beating of their hearts to settle down.

Meanwhile, he remained inside of her.

"Well I wouldn't mind eating right now." He said at last, his lips moving to the spot right below her earlobe and placing a kiss there.

"Seriously, you are thinking about food now?" She rolled her eyes but she also moved her face to the side so that he could have better access. By then he was no longer hard while inside of her but he still kept himself in place. It felt kind of funny and she was sure that he would slip out soon enough, but he didn't.

"It's your fault for wearing me down like you did." His stubble prickled her skin as he moved his face against hers and she bit down a smile.

Now she didn't know what it was that made her smile, she just knew that it felt nice just to be there with him.

Sighing and placing a hand to his cheek, she made him look at her, and when his blue eyes finally found hers she made sure to hold his gaze. "I don't know what you're doing to me."

And she really didn't. It wasn't like her to act like she was acting with him and it honestly baffled her. She was lowering her guard and letting herself go and she shouldn't be doing that. Especially now that there were airs of change swirling around their situation.

"You don't know?" He said amusedly and taking her out of her thoughts. "Perhaps I need to show you once more so you get an idea." With that said he slid his hand to her hip and pulled her to him.

Licking her lips and arching an eyebrow, she allowed her fingers to run down his shoulder and to his arm. "You think?"

He lowered his eyes to her lips and kissed her. It was amazing, but she could feel that he was getting hard into her and the possibilities made her tingle all over.

"I do." With that said he grabbed her thigh and kissed her, slowly at first and then as he started moving within her, a little more passionately.

Robin… she didn't know what the future held for them; all she knew was that in that moment, in that bed, all she wanted was him.

Was it wrong? Who cared, all she could think was that they had some more time to kill before dinner was served and until news about their future would be know; until then, she was going to enjoy the time she had with Robin, after that… well… after that she would think about what was next.


	12. Chapter 12

Mornings are supposed to mark the beginning of everything; a new day, new possibilities and countless of opportunities for people to grab; at least that's what Regina liked to tell her son every time he complained about having to wake up early to go to school.

He would never buy into it, but Regina… Regina was a morning person herself. In her mind there was no better feeling than being up and about while the rest of the world slept, because it was in the quiet hours of the morning where she could find a little bit of peace of mind.

It has been like that all her life, ever since she could remember. But, in that particular morning, for some reason she couldn't quite comprehend, she woke up with a sense of dread eating her inside out that made her anxious to a point were she was feeling physically ill. She couldn't even enjoy the early morning mist and the approaching sunrise announcing the beginning of a new day.

It was quite disconcerting for her because the feeling was so settled in the pit of her stomach that she hadn't even been able to enjoy breakfast, and not necessarily because it has been bad. No, after all there was an impressive selection to pick from and sure, after a strict diet of grapes and lizard for more than ten days everything looked more than appealing.

But eating wasn't in her to do list that morning and if she was able to stomach a toast and some fruit it was because Robin made her do it.

As for the man himself, he ate with no problem whatsoever. Apparently, his appetite was not affected by the situation they were in and he swallowed down everything they put in front of him

All that has been earlier on; soon after waking up they had been summoned for breakfast with Juma and while she nibbled and Robin ate, the man told them how everything was going to be.

As it turned out, Regina worrying about being kidnapped and held for ransom has been all for nothing because that wasn't what Juma wanted to do. He didn't want either to use them in a drug operation or in smuggling illegal merchandise or any of the scenarios her mind has come up with during the night. No, it was nothing of the like and according to the conversation they had, he was just going to drop them by at the nearest town and that was it.

Just as he had said they would the night before when they were told their families had been contacted.

Now… even though everything seemed as it should, there was, as she imagined, something quite not right about the men and the yacht because the leader made it very clear that the village where they were going to be left at was a very poor one and that it probably lacked the things they needed to be rescued immediately.

When they asked if there could be the chance of being dropped someplace else he just said their business wouldn't allow them to go anywhere near authorities or the police.

That comment only aggravated Regina's apprehension because as much as she wanted to go home she didn't want to be left in a poor African village. But it was what it was and as the sun showed his face to the world to see, the yacht reached their destination and after an awkward farewell, Robin and her were escorted to the coast. Her feeling of dread only grew stronger.

"So this is Africa, uh? Don't ask me why but I always thought that it was going to be a bit more crowded around here." Robin said once they were left to their luck in the middle of nowhere

Regina leered at him, observing how he was putting on his back one of the backpacks that were given to them by the mysterious yacht men.

She had one or her own, after all the smuggler, drug dealer or whatever the person that rescued them from the island was, he gave them two backpacks with some food, water, a change of clothes and a piece of paper that they were supposed to show around if they really got in trouble.

"I don't like this." As a matter of fact she liked it even less than what she liked being in the yacht.

"Well it doesn't feel ideal but at least it's something." As he said that, Robin walked around her and helped her put the other backpack on her back. When he was done he turned her around so that they could face each other. "There, it is. You look quite the explorer now."

Regina frowned at him, but before she could reply to such a silly comment, he leaned forward and kissed her lips slightly.

"So should we get going?"

Resting the palm of her hands to his chest, her lips curved into the phantom of a smile as she lifted her face to him. For a few seconds she just looked at him, her eyes taking on every detail of his face because for some reason she knew that from now on whatever was going between them was going to take a turn.

Who knew if she was going to have another chance to be like that with him because they sure as hell couldn't do it Storybrooke; so for whatever time they had she was going to enjoy him. "Yes, but not before you kiss me."

"As you wish."

Not having to be told twice, Robin smiled, closed the distance that separated them and kissed her again. It wasn't the most intense kiss they've shared but if felt nice to have his lips pressed against hers as their tongues brushed together.

But as good ass that felt she knew they couldn't stay there kissing forever so pulling away and forcing her eyes to move from him, she took a scrutinizing look at their surroundings.

Now, she didn't know much about Africa or its villages but she was kind of expecting them to be in a fisherman's village. They were on the coast after all so she didn't really think she was stretching it too far in her mind. But there were no fisherman there, no boats or anything that resembled the place to be inhabited.

That unsettled her even more and biting on her lips she searched for Robin's blue eyes, trying to find something in them that would tell her that she was not the only one having a bad feeling about it all.

What if they got out of a crappy situation just to get into an even worse one?

As her mind started to run, he took her hand, forcing her out of her wild thoughts. "Hey, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine as I'll ever be." She hadn't mean to, but her tone came off as dripping in sarcasm and yeah, now that it was out why couldn't she keep with the tone? "I mean what could possibly go wrong here? I mean apart of being caught up in the middle of a civil war or a tribes war, or even worse, getting mauled by the wildlife?"

Snorting, he slid a hand to the nape of her neck. "Well that's a tad overdramatic, isn't it? Of all the things I would have pegged you for, dramatic wouldn't have been one of them."

"And I wouldn't have pegged you as being so ridiculously nonchalant. Don't you see that as things had been going for us anything can happen."

Moving his hands to her face, he pursed his lips. "And worrying about them won't do us any favors. Yes, there could be dangers everywhere so why don't we just keep our eyes open and keep with the flow."

Snorting, she also put her hands to use and smoothed his shirt. "That's something I don't do well. Going with the flow." No, she was an over thinker and she would die as such.

"Oh, I wouldn't say so after last night, I mean as far as I can remember and I remember it extremely well, you did go with the flow real nice."

Rolling her eyes, she took in a deep breath. But when his free hand settled on her back and then slid lower over her pants to pull her closer, she snorted. "I'm serious here, Robin."

"Me too." He said no more than that, he just moved closer against her once again and kissed her long and deep, stealing with his mouth half her apprehension.

He just had that uncanny ability, to render her mind into nothing so that she could just be ruled by sensation.

So they kissed, and when he pulled away she lowered her head and rested her forehead to his shoulder. He held her like that for a while. "Come on, let's get the bloody hell out of here."

Getting into motion, they walked away from the beach until they found a dirt road. They followed it and it was while they walked through the trail that they started to we see the first inhabitants of the place.

Now, Regina had to be the first to admit that they didn't look hostile; in fact they seemed to shy away from their presence instead of being the other way around; especially when Robin would try to talk to them.

Maybe they took them for bothersome tourists, maybe missioners or something like that, what would she know? The fact was that they decided to ignore them and even she was glad that at least they were not being attacked, it felt kind of impossible to see how they would get help like that.

"This is going to be harder than I thought."

"At least they are not hostile." Regina said and when he threw an arm over her shoulder to pull her closer she leaned into him and kept walking.

"What, were you expecting them to be cannibals?" He chuckled and Regina shrugged.

"Of course not… well, maybe. You never know."

"Cannibals, Regina, are you for real?"

"What? I read once that there are still cannibals tribes in places like this and since everything wrong is happening to us I thought why not?"

"Yeah well, _anyways_." He said with emphasis. "I think that there must be, or has been some kind of missioners around here. I mean, the people we found in the road didn't look surprised to see us walking out of nowhere and into their village."

Nodding, Regina looked around and spotted the first houses. She didn't like the look of them, and not to be disparaging or anything but they were nothing but a group of shacks scattered around. It didn't look like they had running water so how could they pretend those people help them.

"Juma said no one here speaks good English so what are we going to do and how are they supposed to find us here?" She asked, letting out some of the doubts that had been on her mind.

Robin pulled her even closer to him. "We'll get out of here, we just need to…"

Before he could go on, they were interrupted when a man blocked their way. She immediately squeezed Robin's hand and she could feel her eyes bulging out of their sockets.

"Red Cross?" He asked in a heavy accent she couldn't place.

"No red cross, do you have phone?" Robin asked very slowly; if he felt as intimidated as Regina was he didn't show it.

"No Red Cross?" The man asked again and she fought the urge to tell him that yes, they were the Red Cross.

As a response Robin put his hand in his ear, mimicking as if he was talking on a phone. "We need a phone."

"American?"

"Um, British?"

"British!" He yelped with a laugh and then motioned them to follow him.

After a long walk the man halted on hiss tracks, turned around and motioned them to do the same. He then began to speak a language that neither Robin nor Regina understood, but that didn't keep him from talking, and as he talked they just stared at him.

But then amidst all his talk he put his hand on his ear, just like Robin did a few minutes ago and then he said the magic word. "Phone."

"Yes!" Robin said with a laugh. "Where is it?"

Then man pointed at him and without looking at Regina he talked again. "You phone-" Then he pointed at her. "She here."

Now, Regina didn't need her PhD to understand that he wanted her to stay there while he took Robin to this 'phone' he was talking about.

"No," Robin said and she couldn't lie, she was relieved. The last thing she wanted was to be left alone in that weird place while he disappeared. But the man was adamant in what he was saying and he and Robin went at it for a while, the man talking in his language and Robin responding to him in plain old English that Regina was going with him.

After a few minutes of the same, Robin finally turned to her and when he took her face in his hands, she knew what he was going to say; he was going to leave her.

"Absolutely not." She said while shaking her head no. "There's no way I'm staying here."

"It will only be for a while, I'll be back soon, I promise."

Scoffing, Regina dug into his eyes to see if he was being serious. And he was, thing that made her features show how much she didn't like it.

"Regina, do you want to get out of here?" His tone was calm, almost soothing but she just couldn't bite into it.

"Of course I do." She managed to say. It was a stupid question though, because he knew very well that she wanted that more than anything.

"Then I need to find that phone and chances are that he can take me to one. So I can either go with him or stay here brooding with you for God only knows how long." He took his hands away from her and then reached for his backpack; he took out the paper Juma gave them. "Here, if anyone, anyone comes near you show them this."

He placed the paper in her hand and she just stared at it. What the hell was she supposed to do with it if he never made it back?

But he didn't seem to mind that, he just kissed her and walked away with the man; leaving Regina behind as she watched him go, in shock and a bit perplexed.

She couldn't believe he actually left her there.

For a while she just stood immobile, watching them both disappear into a building that seemed made out of stones.

He left her…

Blinking several times as she tried not to be bothered by that, she took in a deep breath. It was ridiculous that she would be mad at that but there she was. It was just that for almost two weeks it has been just the two of them against all odds and now he just left.

Trying to calm down, she ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her pose. As she did that, she noticed that there were not a lot of people around, just desolation and dry weather.

It was like nothing she has seen before and not wanting to stand out in such a place, she took off the backpack and sat on a rock.

Sitting there she waited, and after a while that felt like an eternity, a girl that seemed to be no more than ten and skinny as she could be approached her. She sat in front of her, her hands supporting her face as she studied her with two huge pair of chocolate brown eyes.

Not knowing how to react, the two of them just stared at each other and then she couldn't help it, despite everything that was going on she smiled and the girl reciprocated with a smile of her own. Then the girl became all serious again and kept her watch on Regina.

Arching an eyebrow and clearing her throat, the raven haired woman looked away. Her eyes moved to the trees, to a few dogs that roamed around and then she looked back at the girl. It was a bit awkward but being a mother herself she looked pass that and smiled again.

"Hi." She said and the kid repeated what she just said.

With the smile still on her lips, she arched an eyebrow and just as she did before, the girl did the same, then she flashed Regina a big smile.

"Alright." Despite herself she chuckled. She still remembered how a few years ago Henry wouldn't leave her alone with that game. He wouldn't just let it go and well, after a while it got too annoying. Now there she was, at the other side of the world and now she had a girl doing the same.

Snorting, she took out of her backpack a sandwich that Juma gave her and offered it out to the small girl. She got up to her feet immediately and grabbed it before running away.

"Yeah, you're welcome." Sighing, she looked at the building Robin went into, hoping to see him walking out. But he didn't… and that only worried her.

As she waited and considered if it would be wise for her to get into the building and check what was going on, she felt a sharp pain and then a burning sensation on her wrist. It made her jump startled and when she looked, much to her horror she saw a small snake curling at her feet.

"Oh my God!" She whispered while getting up to her feet; her immediate reaction was to smash the damn creature with her foot and once it was dead she looked at her wrist to see two small punctures.

It was all she needed to begin to panic.

"Robin!" She called out, but instead of the blue eyed man she was hoping for, an old woman came instead. She took a close look at the smashed snake and then she started talking to Regina.

Now Regina didn't understand a word the woman was saying and as her whole arm began to feel numb and heavy she was pushed inside and forced to walk in.

"It bit me." As she was guided into one of the houses, she snorted in disbelief. "I cant believe this." Her chest felt tight, her heart was bumping in frenzy and the woman kept on talking. "Where is Robin?"

She tried to walk away but the woman pushed her into a chair, then out of nowhere she took a needle and buried it into her arm.

"What the hell are you doing? What is that?" At that point she was screaming at the woman, she knew it but couldn't control it. All she had in her mind was that there was an awful metallic taste in her mouth and that now that she was so close to getting back to Henry, a snake bit her in the middle of nowhere and ruined it all.

She survived a plane crash only for a snake to kill her.

"Regina?" She heard Robin and she searched for him with her eyes. When she spotted him he was already on his way to her and when he reached her he knelt in front of her.

"What happened? What is it?" He looked worried and pale as his hands roamed her body, searching for something wrong and not able to find it.

Couldn't he see it? Her arm must have swollen ten times its normal size and he couldn't see it?

"It bit me. You left me there and it bit me, why did you leave me there? And then this woman injected me, what did she do?" She was rambling, that was all she knew, at least until at some some point he grabbed her face in his hands and forced her to look into his eyes.

"Regina, you need to calm down, you are panicking."

"No, you calm down!" She snapped, pushing him away and ignoring the look he was giving her. It was all his fault, and as she got to her feet to tell him that the woman pushed her back into the chair.

"Don't you touch me!" She yelled at her and as Robin did she took her face in her leathered hands.

The old woman spoke to her… almost chanting and Regina just stared, entranced. Somehow she began to feel calmer, and as she stared at her, her eyes wide and wild she began to rub some kind of gooey substance in her arm.

All that she watched in silence, her breathing going back to normal until she blew some kind of nasty smoke in her face. It made her cough but she kept chanting her words, smoking her tobacco or whatever it was…

And through that thing she was doing all Regina could think was that she hated snakes.


	13. Chapter 13

A deep sense of calmness had taken over her, making her feel as if her body was floating brokenly through the sky, the wind carrying her to a land far, far away… a strange land of mysteries. Now, she didn't know if the sensation was provoked by exhaustion of the spirit or by the rituals the old woman made on her, all she knew was that she felt half out of it.

Her mind was clouded, her breathing slow and in the few occasions she has tried to move her limbs didn't seem to react accordingly. She just felt as if she was drifting in the air.

While her body felt like floating away, her eyes were fixed on her wrist, staring at the two swollen punctures imprinted there as if expecting to see right through them. Who knew, maybe she could, maybe if she willed her eyes to it she might get a peek at her flesh and bones.

As she tried to see past her broken skin, she heard someone talking. The voice came from outside and was soon joined by another… both of them speaking a strange language that she didn't understand.

The voices came to interrupt the sepulchral silence that has been taking over the poorly lit room she was in and apparently upon hearing them too, Robin's hand moved once again, resuming the motion of his fingers lazily running through her hair.

She remained motionless though, he probably thought she was still sleeping and she didn't want to make a movement that would tell him otherwise. So she just laid still and allowed him to soothe her with his tender touch.

He has been there for a while now, sitting in a chair behind her as she laid on the hard bed she was left to rest… and just as she laid immobile so did he; only his fingers moved through her hair. During all the time he has been there he has spoken no word, neither had her.

Maybe he thought she was angry, thing that she wasn't, she just felt… calm, numb; floating around and waiting to land on her own two feet.

"Regina." His voice was a soft whisper, a bit hoarse from the lack of use. She wondered if she made a movement that gave away her state of being awake or if he was just trying to wake her up; whatever it was it prompted his hand to slide down her arm.

He moved her, making her turn around so that she was now looking at him so she guessed there was no pretending now. But she didn't speak; she just stared deep into his clear blue eyes while he scanned her face with them.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked, his fingers returning to her hair. She didn't answer and for a while she just stared at him, at least that was until he rested his forehead to hers.

"Look, I'm really sorry, I… I shouldn't have left you there." He whispered and her heart shrank one size. But still she said nothing, she couldn't, not now that her throat was dry and there was a huge lump there.

Maybe saying nothing was for the best, maybe it was how it was meant to be; after all the notion that she needed to start detaching herself from him hadn't stop swirling inside her confused mind and she shouldn't wait until they got back to Storybrooke to do it.

That was what the remaining rational part of her was telling her, but that her brain knew what she needed to do didn't mean her entire being was okay with it because it wasn't.

It was a matter of head versus heart, and in her daze she just didn't know which one she should follow.

In was all too confusing, she was not even sure if what she was feeling was coming from what just happened to her or by whatever the woman did, but as she lay there she couldn't see how she could really detach herself from him, especially when his lips kissed hers. Sure, it was just a light peck but it was a peck from his lips. And how could she ever detach herself from those lips? From those eyes?

She just… it was stupid, she was being stupid. She was probably drugged so she couldn't rely on anything she felt or thought in that state so she just needed to sleep it off and then analyze it all with her usually clear head.

As she decided to wait until she felt more like herself, Robin drew back a little and his hands came down to cradle her face, his thumbs moving over her cheeks in a tender caress. "Talk to me, Regina."

Blinking her eyes a few times, she chewed on the inside of her cheeks, but before she could do or say something to him, the old woman made an appearance, carrying with her some kind of cup that she brought to her.

Robin let go of her face but he didn't move from his spot at her side, and when the woman motioned her to drink the contents of the cup she was very tempted to shake her head no.

But she got no time for that as the woman started talking that language of hers while almost pushing the cup to her lips.

"I won't drink that." She said stubbornly, fully knowing that she couldn't understand. "No."

With the corner of her eyes she saw that Robin took the cup from the woman's hands and took a look at it, he even went as far as to smell it. As he did that the woman changed her attention to him, now talking to him.

"I don't want to drink it." She said once again.

The woman took the cup from Robin's hands and started to speak more animatedly, motioning Regina to drink it… and because she was still not in her right mind and she was starting to annoy the hell out of her she took the cup and drank it, swallowing it in one gulp to be done with it already.

Now, Regina didn't know what was that, only that it was extremely sweet, almost to the point of making her gag. But at least that apparently made the elder woman happy and she finally left, but not before smiling a huge toothless grin.

After that Robin and her were left alone and once again she laid on her side; only that this time she was facing him instead of showing her back to him.

He rested his head on the wooden bed, almost touching hers while his body remained on the chair. For a while neither of them spoke and his fingers went back to do their thing, this time venturing down to her face.

"We'll get out of here soon. I was able to talk with the Embassy and they will come for us. They could make it here anytime now."

Regina nodded, not sure how to respond to that.

Smiling a little, his fingers traced a path down her cheekbone and then to the corner of her lips. "And once we get out of here we'll get home and we can go back to normal, hopefully by then you won't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you." She said and she meant it, she was just getting used to the idea that they were indeed going back to normal and that in that normalcy, whatever it was that they had couldn't be. It was a conflict of interest, it was unethical and most importantly, it would end up badly and she refused to mess up another man's life. Thinking about that, she sighed, biting on her lips as she looked into his eyes. "I'm just tired."

He kissed her temple, his lips lingering on her skin for a moment before pulling away. "You should be mad at me, I'm a twit and who knows what would have happened if that woman hadn't been around. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you."

Despite the situation, Regina smiled. It came off as a sad smile because his words made her feel a deep sense of sadness. It was just that… Robin was genuinely a good man and that only confirmed that she couldn't be as irresponsible with him as she has been with Daniel.

With Daniel she only thought about herself, about how she felt and what she wanted and she ended up literally ruining his life. She couldn't do the same to Robin because he didn't deserve that.

He deserved better than her. He deserved someone complete who could care for him with everything she had and that wasn't her.

She was a broken soul, and she doubted she could give him what he would end up wanting, her heart.

"I'm fine." She said referring to the snake's incident. Sure, her arm felt bigger than it was, it itched and she also felt a bit disoriented, but that wasn't too grave. It could have been a lot worse. "Nothing that some sleep won't fix."

"Then you should sleep, I'll be here when you wake up."

Sighing, she closed her eyes just so she wouldn't have to look into his eyes, but then she started to drift off, his touch lulling her to sleep…

"Regina, hey wake up."

Grumbling and shaking her head no, the brown eyed woman tried to push out of her mind the voice that was calling her name. She didn't get why the insistence to interrupt her slumber now that she was so comfortable. All she wanted was to rest so she ignored it. She didn't want to wake up.

"Regina." The voice, which apparently wasn't in her head but whispering in her ear called once again.

She knew that voice and upon recognition she opened her eyes and when she did she saw Robin's face hovering over hers. It took her a while to remember where they were, the hard surface underneath her a cruel reminder.

Humming, she tried to sit, but a wave of dizziness invaded her and she had to lay down again, closing her eyes and mumbling under her breath a complain.

"Come on, love. No more naps for today." He helped her to sit and she had to rest against him, her limbs failing her while everything spun around her.

She felt awful and she wondered if it had anything to do with the thing the old woman gave her to drink. It had to, because she wasn't feeling like that before drinking it.

Before she was half out of it, now she didn't seem to have control over any of her movements. Even her head felt too heavy for her neck to support it.

"I think I'm going to throw up." She mumbled, but thankfully after breathing it out she didn't.

She still remained motionless, just in case because she didn't want a sudden movement make her feel ill. All the while Robin held her, and if she would have indeed thrown up she would have done so all over him.

That wouldn't have been good like at all and definitely not how she wanted to parts ways with him.

"Better?" He asked after a while and she nodded. "Good, because I wouldn't want you to puke your way towards the helicopter."

"What helicopter?" She asked, pulling away from him to take a look at his face.

"The one that will take us out of here. That's if you decided to get out of bed."

She blinked a couple of times and before she could react to the news he was pulling her to her feet. Once up he allowed her some time so she could settle, but then he started to walk away, dragging her with him.

"Do you want me to carry you?"

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous." She replied while trying to cope with everything, her mind still feeling fuzzy.

"Well there it is, good ol' Regina and her haughty as ever ways." He said in good nature and if it wasn't because she felt too dizzy, she would have rolled her eyes at him.

So no, she didn't reply either and just limited herself to walk with him.

On their way out they found the old woman, Robin thanked her and she did too, even though she didn't think the woman understood, she just smiled and waved them goodbye and off they went.

As they walked to the helicopter, she noticed how everyone kept going on with their lives as the buzzing machine stood in the middle of their village, only the kids seemed to take any interest on it… and obviously Robin and her did too.

But they cared because the helicopter was their ticket to go back home to their lives, to their children; it was also the one thing that would end something that perhaps should have never started. Them.

But it was what it was.

When the pilot saw them he greeted them and introduced himself; he told them how he would take them as far as Lisbon where they were going to be checked up by medics, from there they would take a plane back home.

After that brief introduction they got into the helicopter and out of Africa they went.

The journey was a long one, but not as long as the one from Lisbon to the States. Regina slept most part of the way, and the time she couldn't sleep she spent it on Robin's arms, the two of them submerged deep in their own thoughts as each passing second took them close to their home… and yes, also marking their last moments together.

Now, if she had to be completely honest, the dread of having to let him go was much stronger than the fear she had that their plane would crash too; after all for close to two weeks or so he bas been all she had left and she got so used to him that it was even making her feel confused.

She didn't know what to make of it, she just knew that feeling like that was not something she wanted. Getting attached was just something she didn't do and now that they were almost back to their normal lives, she couldn't understand how she gave him the reigns to emotionally drag her around.

But then again, maybe she was making it a bigger issue than what it really was. They just spent a little less than two weeks in the Island and the thing with him didn't even start immediately, so how hard could it be to move on?

Yes, in that short of time they went through so much, she owed him so much…

As she mused over her feelings and how she was going to get over him, the pilot announced their arrival. Part of her felt relieved because she was home, finally. She was about to see her son and wasn't that all she ever wanted?

"So are you ready for this?" He asked, he didn't seem bothered in the slightest… in fact he seemed happy and excited.

It made her wonder what was his take on everything when it came to them, after all he did know there could be no more them now that they were back. Yes, he knew, not only because it was common sense but also because she told him back when they were still at the Island.

Or did she?

"I don't know if I'm ready." She admitted, rubbing her hands together because she didn't know what else to do with them. The only thing she knew was that she couldn't grab him and kiss him like she wanted to, not when she was a few steps away from her reality.

So because she knew she should get a hold she decided to go with a safe route and with something that has been bothering her too.

"I think I'm nervous about Henry. If he was with my mother then I hope she didn't mess him up too much; but if he was with Emma…" She sighed, running the tip of her tongue over the edge of her teeth. "What if he wants to stay with her, I mean she is her mother."

And that would definitely kill her.

"Hey, don't think even for a second that your boy would do that." He said and for a moment she almost believed him, she wanted to… "You are his mother, the only one he knew while growing up so keep those thoughts out of that head of yours."

For a while she just looked at him; entranced by the way his eyes delved deep in to hers as her hand went to his face, her knuckles running down his cheeks.

He smiled at that and grabbing her hand he kissed her. But then, before she could really enjoy the moment he pulled away and she knew it was time to face reality.

"Come on. I want to see that boy of mine."

When the door was finally opened, they both got up to their feet and walked out, each step making her feel more nervous, not only because the deal with Robin but because she was getting her life back and she felt antsy about it.

Her fears about Henry were also too real to ignore, and each step made her feel more than nervous.

When they finally stepped out she immediately spotted Emma, she was chewing on her nails as she paced all around and despite how she has never liked how the woman waltzed her way back into her son's life, she was kind of glad that she was there because it meant Cora didn't get to keep Henry.

Not that she really believed her mother would want to take care of Henry, she was after all always throwing her little comments about how the boy was not her real son but a whim from her to bother her.

But back to what was happening, Emma being there also meant her fears could end up being a reality. What if Henry got the hang of the woman all too quickly? After all the blonde was the _fun_ mom while she was the one with all the rules.

Trying not to think about that, her eyes kept scanning around, looking for Henry. She couldn't see him, all she spotted was a big man with a little kid in his arms that jumped into the floor as started running towards them and for a second she got distracted by the image.

The boy couldn't be more than four, his brown curly hair all over the place as he smiled the same dimple smile as his father's. He was running towards Robin and when he reached him the man picked him up and swirled him around.

"Mom!" But her distraction was short lived and as soon as she heard that voice her head jerked forward, looking for him.

It didn't take long and as soon as she saw him her heart got into a frenzy. He was running towards her and before she could think about it she moved from her spot to meet him halfway.

Once close enough he collided against her hard enough to almost knock her down but he hugged her so hard that she was able to maintain herself standing.

"Oh my God." She said, hugging him back with the same force and snorting a little when he lifted her up in the embrace. "I love you, so much. I missed you."

Breathing into his familiar boyish scent and kissing his cheek as hard as she could, she tried to blink her tears away. It was impossible though so she just let them flow.

"I love you mom."

Swallowing down and refusing to look Robin's way, she kissed her son's forehead. This was all she needed in her life. Henry, nothing more.


	14. Chapter 14

A week and a half ago, when her connection flight Lisbon-Maine finally landed at the airport so she could finally set foot back in good ol' USA, the first thought that crossed through Regina's mind was that she was finally going back to normal.

It made sense; after all she was coming back from an almost two weeks forced vacations in a deserted island where everything from illicit affairs, African smugglers and wild chasing pigs were the common things to rule her days, so going back to what she thought was typical was the logical thing.

Well, it seemed that way and she was hoping for that, she needed that… but apparently she has been wrong in expecting her usually routinely life to be unaffected.

You see, she did get some kind of normalcy if you looked at the fact that she has been sleeping in her own comfortable bed or that she has been having some decent full meals; but overall, looking at the whole picture she still hadn't gotten back to what it used to be and she didn't think she would anytime soon.

Everything was still too messed up right in that moment to call it normal.

To begin things, she needed to point out that there has been some very insistent reporters following her and stalking her in hopes that she would give them the exclusive of the Mayor of Storybrooke's survival story, thing that she didn't plan to do yet… if ever.

To be honest, forgetting that those two weeks after the crash ever happened was all she wanted and if they kept bugging her about it she would never get to that point. Besides, they were just creepy and annoying, especially when all she wanted was to catch up with the two weeks she missed out of her son's life.

But taking the reporters out of the scenario, there was another factor that was not only altering her normalcy but also her peace of mind, and that was the fact that after her mother found out she wasn't dead she decided to visit and stay for a couple of days at her place.

It was bad, and even though the woman claimed she wanted nothing more than to rekindle her relationship with her, Regina just didn't believe her. Especially since she was all excited about how her story would grant her a secure win in the following elections. She was even pushing her to go public with her story so that she could get sympathy from the voters.

So yes, it was messed up and the only good thing that she has been enjoying since coming back was Henry's company; other than that everything just felt out of place. She hasn't even gotten cleared off to work right back and that was also adding to her distress.

She needed the distraction, and she needed it urgently.

True, going back to work opened the possibility that she would run into Robin but that was something that would happen eventually. Trying to postpone it was stretching the inevitable, because sooner or later it was going to happen.

Maybe that was something she needed, because maybe that way she wouldn't have to go to sleep wondering how he was Robin doing. No, that way she would just know.

But no, she couldn't go back to work just yet and she was going to assume that neither could Robin, at least not until they got cleared, but because nobody ever said anything about how she couldn't visit, she ended up that day in The City Hall.

It was a just a visit, she told herself, after all she was the Mayor and she could come and go as she pleased.

Oh, she regretted it as soon as she stepped in because now the employees were all over her and she had to force out a smile while everyone told her how glad they were to have her back.

She felt cornered and smothered as the small crowd that surrounded her kept shooting question after question. It was crazy and definitely not the reception she has been expecting since well, before the accident she was sure nobody there liked her that much.

Maybe her mother was right for a change…

"Is it true that you had to eat lizards? Robin told me that."

At the mention of that name, Regina tilted her head to the side and looked at Belle straight in the eye. She was looking back at her with a big bright smile in her face as if she just asked the most excited question of them all.

"He told you that?"

"Yes, he also said that you were going to kill him if you knew he said that." With a chuckle, she placed her hands on her hips and her eyes grew ten times their size. "Oh, but please don't kill him, we just got him back and you know, it would be bad if you killed him now."

"Yeah, that would be tragic, especially for me."

Now, if the mention of his name caught her attention then imagine how it was like to hear his voice. Yes, cheesy as it sounded her heart halted for ten whole seconds and then it started to beat furiously inside her chest as she slowly turned to him.

As soon as she finally laid her eyes on him she couldn't help but to hold her breath; after all she hasn't seen or even talked to him since the day they got back from Africa and no, even though he worked in the building she hadn't been expecting to see him there that day.

But he was there, standing a few paces away from her as she stared at him.

Forcing herself out of her trance, she obliged her lips to curve into a smile and then she went back to breathing. "Locksley. Didn't expect to see you here. And don't worry, I'm not going to kill you." No, far from that; in fact she kind of wanted to walk to him and kiss him senseless until there was no air in her lungs.

She couldn't put her finger to that sudden urge, she didn't know if it was the half dimple smile on his face or the way he was looking at her that was making her want to go there and kiss him even though everyone was looking.

Of course she didn't do that, she had better sense than that. She wasn't a creature of urges and has always been more of the rational type, and now that she was trying to go back to how things were she needed to remind herself of that.

What happened in the Island had to stay there.

But there were a few things she needed to talk with Robin so walking away from the crowd, she took two steps towards him and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I do however need to have a word with you." As she said that in her businesslike tone, she felt all eyes on her.

Robin pushed the corner of his lips with the tip of his tongue, his eyes glistening. "As you wish, Madame Mayor."

Nodding, she cleared her throat. "My office then." She said and then excusing herself she started walking without even bothering to check if he was following, the sound of her heels against the marble floor suddenly deafening.

Once at her office's entrance, she unlocked it and motioned him to go first, and when he walked in she closed the door.

Robin didn't even give her time to walk in properly and settle in her desk as she has wanted to, what he did was halt on his tracks and turn around so that he could face her.

The smile on his face was no longer there and instead he looked at her somberly. "So I finally get to see you again, and here I was thinking you were going to keep hiding forever."

"I wasn't hiding." She replied, biting on her bottom lip as she looked up to him thoughtfully.

Narrowing his eyes, Robin folded his arms up to his chest and wrinkled his nose. "Really? Well it definitely seemed that way to me, I mean you just disappeared back at the airport."

Lowering her eyes she sighed because she knew what he was talking about; for the last week she hadn't even attempted trying to talk to him and when their flight landed she convinced Emma to get her out of there as soon as she could. She didn't mean it as a way to hide, she was just trying to turn a page in her life and the only way she knew how to was ripping it off.

Back to that time, she has been sure that it was for the best to get as far as she could from him and the way he was making her feel.

But now it was different, now she had him here, so close that she could touch him and as she stood under his intense stare she started wondering why was it that she tried to stay away.

"I thought that was for the best… considering things."

He nodded, his lips twisting and his eyes lowering for a second. He said nothing though, thing that she found odd because if there was something she has come to learn about him it was that he always had something to say."

"I've been thinking about you, you know?" She confessed, venturing to look at him once again. He still wasn't saying anything, but his lips curved into the phantom of a smile and she showed him a smile of her own. "So how have you been?" She asked, noticing how her voice came out too high pitched in the awkward silence that surrounded them.

Without taking his eyes away from her, the man that has been taking over her mind shrugged. "I've been pretty good. Considering things."

Catching on how he used her own words to reply, she nodded. As she did that she was unable to will her eyes away from him as he took hold of her hand to take a look at her wrist. For a few seconds he just inspected the spot where she was bitten and then he let her hand fall to her side.

"I didn't expect you to see you here today."

"And you say that as in, 'if I knew you were going to be here I wouldn't have come?'" He asked, resting one hand against a spot at the wall right above her head and she swallowed hard at the low tone he was using to talk to her.

Shaking her head no, she kept her eyes glued to his as he scanned her face. "Of course not. I would have come because there are a few things I never got to tell you."

"What things? That you liked and miss my excellent culinary skills?"

Regina chewed on her lips; sure, what he just said sounded innocent and even kind of lighthearted, but taking in consideration the dark whispering tone he was using in his talk or the way he was hovering over her, there was no reason for her to respond with a friendly smile.

"Not really," She said resting the weight of her body on her left foot. "I just wanted to thank you. I don't think I would be alive today if it wasn't for all you did for me."

"You don't have to thank me for that."

"Actually I do, and I know-"

Preventing her from going any further than that and catching her off guard, Robin lowered his face and before she could do or say anything his lips were on hers. It all happened very quickly, one moment she was about to thank him for everything, for pulling her out of the plane, for feeding her, for keeping her safe and sane and the next second he was kissing her.

Not only that, but as soon as his lips met hers she automatically closed her eyes and received him, allowing him entrance into her mouth as his tongue slowly but firmly sought for hers. And well, wrong as it may be she couldn't help but to respond to him, feeling as if her body was melting against him as his arm circled her waist to hold her to him.

Now, this was not how she wanted things to turn to, she went there as a way to distract her mind and she ended up making out with her auditor, in her office. She wasn't even attempting to stop him; instead she encouraged him even more by grabbing the leather jacket he had on to pull him nearer as her other hand went to cradle the back of his head.

It was actually kind of scary how easy it was for him to make her resolution crumble; he just came, took a hold of the foundations that held all her determination in place and shook it up real nice until it all started to fall apart on her. How silly of her to think she had a chance to fight him off.

Before he kissed her and made her forget about everything but the feeling of his lips on hers, she was totally determined that she needed to stay away from him and there she was now, letting the man kiss her senseless while she did absolutely nothing to stop him.

Quite the contrary, instead of pushing him away like she knew she should do she was actually holding him close to her while kissing him back; but that was not all, the really bad part came with the following statement; she would be lying if she said that she wanted him to stop.

It was wrong, she was very aware of that and she didn't know what was with her; her thing with Robin was not supposed to carry on outside the Island, she didn't want it to carry on. But then again, to be completely honest she had to admit that he has been the most predominant thought in her mind as of late.

Now it was this; with just that kiss he was settling a fire deep within her very existence that was burning her all over. The way he kissed her, the way his hands felt against her hips and… wow just the way his body pressed to hers to hold her in place was too much for the weakness of her flesh.

But it was wrong so moving her hand from the back of his head to his shoulder, she forced her lips to break away from his and with her eyes tightly shut she shook her head no. "Robin… you know we can't."

"We can't what?" His voice was a low dark whisper against her lips and while he asked her that she felt how his hands slid to her lower back to pull her closer to him. "Kiss? Because if that's it I have two words for you, too late."

Detecting the smugness in his voice and not liking it, she opened her eyes and arched an eyebrow. He knew she was weak for him and she didn't want him to have any kind of control over her. "You know we can't do this. I am the Mayor and you work auditing me for the central government."

"And what makes you think I care about that?"

Blinking her eyes rapidly, she scoffed and locked her eyes to his. God, how she had missed those eyes… but that was not what she should focus now; no what she needed to focus was in what he said. Was he out of his mind?

"Then you clearly lost your wits. I haven't though, and I do care." After saying that she cleared her throat. "Last thing I need is for people to know about what happened."

"Oh so you want me to be your dirty little secret now, is that… is that what you want? To keep quiet and pretend nothing ever happened?"

Laughing bitterly she rolled her eyes. "Well I sure as hell don't want to announce it in the next town's meeting."

Didn't he get that people knowing was going to cost them both their jobs? He had a kid and he even told her how he needed to provide for him so no, she wasn't going to let him do that.

There were a lot of ways she could end up screwing his life and making him be out of work was just going to be the first one, if she allowed it, that was.

"Look, I would just really appreciate it if you kept what happened between us private. Last thing we need is to make it public."

He snorted. "I wasn't going to _make it public_, it's not my style." He let the words sink in before continuing. "And I can get why you want to cut things here, Regina, I really do. I'm not that dense. But you know… the least you could have done was come clear with me long ago and tell me this straight to my face instead of bailing out and hiding."

"I told you I wasn't hiding; and going our separate ways was for the best."

"The best for who, for you? Did it ever crossed your mind to at least give a heads up because trust me, last thing I expected was for you to start ghosting me."

"Oh come on." She said and soon after she tried to walk away from him. But he was holding her close and he was not letting her go. "We are done talking now, let me go."

"How-" He began to say and because her eyes were glued to his face she saw how he halted for a second to lick his lips. "How do you do this, getting to act so cold and detached after all we went through?"

For some reason that bothered her and tilting her head to him she breathed out. "You know what, screw you, Robin. You don't know anything about me so don't you start making conclusions about how I am. What happened in the island didn't mean anything, it just happened and that's it. Now we are back to normal so let's just move on." After that spilled out of her mouth, she pushed him out of her way and tried to flee the scene.

But before she could reach the door handle he grabbed her by the arm and swirled her around. Before she knew it he was trapping her against the door.

"It meant nothing you say, is that what you really think?" He asked and the question was not kind, he was mad. She could hear the anger in his voice and she could feel it in the way his eyes looked at her.

"Let me go." She hissed, swallowing down very hard and refusing to take her eyes away from his. She kind of wanted to take back what she said though and explain herself better, because in all fairness of the truth, what happened back at the island meant a lot to her… more than he could ever imagine.

But she didn't say anything and for the longest while they remained like that, Regina pressed against a wall while her eyes dueled with his in a battle that neither one wanted to lose. But then he finally shook his head and let go of her.

"You know what, bugger this."

With that said, he took a step back as if to leave and Regina took that moment to close her eyes and take a deep breath.

"Robin. I don't want to be at odds with you, I really don't."

Running a hand through his hair, he scoffed. "You really have a great way of showing it."

Opening her eyes and searching for his him, she swallowed hard down. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "Don't be, we were clearly on different pages. It was my mistake for thinking otherwise. I'm crystal clear now so… don't sweat it. Now if you excuse me, Madame Mayor."

With that said he turned around and walked away. For a minute that felt like an eternity, she just kept in place, watching him go… and the farther he got, the more she felt like reaching out to him.

But she didn't… she just let him go.


	15. Chapter 15

She did the right thing.

Yes; she just did, because no matter how she thought she felt the truth was that caring about Robin meant understanding that he was better off without the mess that was her life interfering with his.

He deserved better than dealing with her issues and if keeping him safe from her messy life meant letting him go then that was exactly what she was going to do.

It stung, yes, it made her chest feel as if a hole was dug right in the middle of it and it made air feel like it was too thick for her to breath; but she was okay with it because in the long run it was indeed for the best.

It didn't felt right though, it didn't even feel fair, and for the first time in a long time she wondered how come it was always her the one that had to live a lonely life.

Sure, she had Henry and for years she was content with just him, but now she was beginning to wonder why couldn't she have it all.

She hadn't question life like that since Daniel and the lost of her baby and that made her chest tighten even more.

"It's not fair." Snorting bitterly, she couldn't help but to think that she was living the life of a B-rated movie character staring in the worst drama in the history of romantic tragedies.

Her whole life was a melodrama but she didn't even have to go that far back; no, not when in less than a month her life took on a dramatic twist matched only in crappy fiction and as a result she could now add to her resume the following: survivor of a plane crash, victim of starting an affair with someone who unknowingly turned her world upside down but with whom she couldn't be with and temporarily being hostage of what could easily be an African smuggler.

That was without mentioning the snake. So yes, it was a mess, and adding to it the exchange she just had with Robin and everything turned from bad to worse.

It was too much too soon if you asked her and she really didn't know how she was dealing with it without going completely crazy.

Any sane person would have sent everyone and everything to hell and would have definitely fled the scene long ago so they could be where they could take time off to think about everything with no pressure.

Well, not her. She went at it without thinking too much and looked at what she did.

True, cutting things with Robin was the best decision, but the weight on her chest at seeing him so deflated over her words was a clear indication that she dealt with it the wrong way.

He didn't deserve that. After everything they went through he definitely deserved better.

Turning around in her heels, she bit hard on her bottom lip, took in a deep breath and before she could regret it she opened the door and stepped outside. She did it without giving it too much thought and when she spotted him walking through the deserted corridor that headed out of her office she called for him.

"Robin, wait."

To be honest she didn't know why she went after him or what she was going to say, she just knew that it didn't feel right to let him walk away like he just did.

But who knew, last conversation they had didn't exactly end in good terms and for all she knew he was more than happy to leave everything behind.

She wouldn't blame him if that was what he wanted because if it would have been the other way around, she wouldn't have been too happy with him for saying that what happened in the Island was nothing… so if he was mad and didn't want to hear her out she would definitely understand him.

But he stopped, maybe he didn't turn to her immediately but he did stop.

Lifting a hand to her head and running her fingers to her hair, she blew out a breath as he finally turned so he could face her.

He didn't say anything though and just limited himself to stare directly at her.

For a moment in which she though she froze, she felt her heart skip a beat and she had to swallow on dry. He was there, no farther than twenty steps away, looking at her with that somber expression on his face that he had back when they were at her office.

She didn't exactly like it but at least he was still there.

Tilting her head to him, her eyes went directly to lock with the blue of his. That was why she walked out of her office, to catch up with him before he could leave and yet… she couldn't move from the spot and she didn't know what to say.

Lowering her eyes and taking in a deep breath, she forced her legs to move in his direction and unable to hide her sudden anxiety, she bit hard on her lips. She didn't know what to say, true, but even though she walked to him and didn't stop until she was standing right in front of him.

"What happened back there, it felt wrong." She said and God, why did her voice came out so low and pathetic? She really hated it and she hoped he didn't pick up on her tone.

Not saying anything, Robin folded his arms to his chest while chewing on his lips.

At his lack of response, she took yet another deep breath. She was really bad at this so closing her eyes for three long seconds, she lifted a hand to her forehead and let it rest there. But then she blinked her eyes open and fixed her stare on him.

"Can we go back there and talk this over? I don't want us to part ways like this."

With his eyes delving into hers, he shrugged. "I'm pretty sure you said all you needed to say already, why keep going around the subject if the result is going to be the same?"

So okay, she got it; he was mad and he didn't want to talk to her. It didn't matter though, as she was going to talk and get things off her chest anyway and if it had to be there then it was going to be there.

"I never really meant for this thing between us to happen; and yet it did… I don't know how it started and why but you knew right from the beginning that it was both unprofessional and unethical."

"So did you, but that didn't seem to be a problem to you back then, did it?" He replied in a low dark whisper and she blinked a couple of times at the tone he was using.

"What?"

"Oh you heard me, back while we were on the island and on the boat you didn't seem to mind about this so called professionalism that now seems to be such an issue."

Licking her lips and eyeing around to make sure there was nobody within earshot, she shrugged. "That was different?"

"Why, because back there you thought you were not going to make it out and so it was okay to be with me? I'm not a better than nothing Regina and I'm not a hobby you take when there is nothing better to entertain you."

Feeling her jaw drop a little by his words, she shook her head no. "I never said that."

"Of course you didn't, because you never said anything. All you did was disappear without even say a word and then next time I see you, more than a week later, is for you to tell me that what happened between us meant nothing to you and that all you wanted was to get back to your life as if nothing ever happened."

At that she had no words, she just looked at him, too stunned to speak or move.

He was right on what he was saying so adding to it would be futile anyway.

Pushing the inside of his cheek with his tongue, Robin shrugged. "And once again you say nothing. You know, it's getting late, I'm not on the clock and this doesn't feel too professional. So…"

With the unspoken dismissal he just threw at her, Regina couldn't help but to feel a lump at the back of her throat forming and she had no choice than to swallow it. It was just that… this was definitely not how she thought things would turn out when she walked after him to fix what happened earlier on. No, somehow she was sure that she made them worse.

But no, she went to him to talk to him and that was what she was going to do. So with that in mind she cleared her throat to let it all out.

"I never thought you were a better than nothing or a hobby like you say; believe it or not I really care about you like you can't imagine. But like I said, everything that happened between us… I didn't mean for it to happen because… because the reasons that I already told you and because this is not what I do. I don't let people into my life for a reason and that's because I'm not mentally prepared or emotionally stable for it and with you I… I don't know what happened. I just don't do this and when I found myself too deep into it I thought that the best way to deal with what I felt was to move on and forget about it because seriously Robin, I didn't know what else to do."

Maybe he wouldn't get it, but after so many years living behind the walls she so diligently built around her, she just didn't know how to live so exposed. Over the years she simply became emotionally inept and that wasn't a place so easy to escape.

After her little rant he said nothing; he was just back at looking at her with all the intensity of his smoldering blue eyes. He did it for a few seconds that felt to drag forever and then he finally spoke. "You could have talked to me. You see, that's what bothers me, Regina, that you just walked out on me and left me hanging. You kept me wondering and waiting and that wasn't right."

Lifting her arms halfway and then letting them fall to her side, she shrugged. What could she say? Messing up and hurting the people she cared about was what she did best and that was why she wanted to keep away.

"I'm sorry."

"I am too. I'm sorry that I didn't know any better, and I'm sorry that I was fool enough to think that maybe you cared a bit. You didn't, but what can we do right? I mean there's work to think about so yes, it's better this way."

This time she was the one that nodded and feeling her eyes tingling with upcoming tears, she bit on her lips. This was it then, for better or for worse. "Okay. Have a good life then."

"You too."

She didn't think she needed or wanted to be there much longer so she just turned on her heels and with her head held up high she walked away. It felt like she was walking down the walk of shame and even though she fought hard not to be stupid and cry, the truth was that she could feel her eyes already getting cloudy as she moved forward.

But she was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her break down so she blinked the urge away; if anything, she needed at least to make it into her office so he won't be able to see her and then she could shame herself in there.

But for now she not going to disgrace herself anymore. The way she saw it she almost bent over backwards to talk to him and he didn't even care, so no, no more of being stupid in front of him.

This was yet another reason why she didn't let people into her life, because caring made you vulnerable and that was something she wasn't used of being.

Once she reached the door to her office she lifted a hand to her face and with the back of her hand she wiped at her eyes. With the other hand she opened the door.

She was about to push it close behind her when she felt someone grabbing her by my arm. It startled her for a second but when said person swirled her around she found herself staring into the blue eyes that seemed to always be in her mind.

"Regina." He said while closing the door and not letting him finish, she took a step towards him and threw her arms around his neck.

So much for not being stupid, but if this was going to be it then she wanted to at least feel him close one last time.

He responded by circling her waist with one of his arms and bringing her closer, he hugged her hard to his body.

"I'm sorry." She said again, breathing into his scent as she felt her tears finally flowing. It was bad, she knew it but she was unable to stop them.

Pulling away from her, Robin lowered his face and without saying anything he pressed his mouth to hers; he kissed her like he has never done before and she somehow felt like he was kissing her goodbye.

If it was, as it should be, then she was going to make the best out of it so she kissed him back, matching the intensity he was using on her. That way, with her tongue almost desperately searching for his, her hand crawled to the nape of his neck to pull him closer, breathing into the kiss and memorizing the moment in her mind.

But then he placed both his hands to her hips and broke away from her lips. "I don't know how you do it, but you make me as mad as anyone has ever made me feel." He hissed, pressing his forehead to hers and closing his eyes.

She said nothing, she just left her hand curled at the back of his neck as her fingers played with his hair.

For the longest time they remained like that, lost into the moment and once again she tried to make things better.

Maybe they couldn't be together, but that didn't mean that they had to be at odds. It wouldn't make sense because when two beings went through the things they went together, the bond shouldn't be severed.

"I wish things were different, I really do." She said, because the fact remained that they still couldn't be. They lived in a small town and being the Mayor put her in the public eye and having an affair with her auditor was a big no no. "I would probably find a way to screw it though so it's all the same."

"You wouldn't have." He whispered against her face.

Sliding her hands down to his shoulders, she breathed out and before she could respond to what he said, he opened his eyes and stared deep into hers. It was almost hypnotic the way he looked at her and she forgot what she was going to say.

"I'm going to ask you something and I need you to be completely honest. Forget about work, forget about the past and everything that is not us. Do you want to be with me? It's a yes or no kind of question."

Scoffing at the absurdity of the question because there was no way she could ignore any of those factors, she wrinkled her nose.

"It doesn't matter."

"It is either a yes or a no."

Closing her eyes she breathed in. "Yes, but it doesn't matter because all of those things are here and they won't go away easily. Things are the way they are and that's it."

"I can make things different, I'll quit if that's what it takes." He said, lifting one hand and brushing his fingers to her cheek, wiping away her already drying tears. She had to open her eyes so that she could stare back at him.

"No, you can't do that." She couldn't start screwing his life already, she wouldn't let him.

Maybe she shouldn't have gone and talk to him and thinking about that she pulled away from him and ran a hand through her hair. She should have lied and say that no, that she didn't want to be with him.

"Why not?"

Puffing out a breath, she stared at him in disbelief. She could tell him a thousand reasons but all of them came down to one. "I'm not worth it."

He frowned, reaching for her and grabbing her face in his hands he pulled her closer. "Of course you are."

"No, listen…"

"No, you listen, Regina. I don't know if this has registered in your brain but we almost died in that crash and… what we are having right now is a second chance at living. I don't know about you but I want to grab it and live it as it is meant to be and I want you in that life. No holds barred."

Reaching for his hands and grabbing them in hers, she took them off her face. "Robin, I can't let you do that."

"Alright, maybe it's too much too soon. But that's where I stand and I just want you to know what I'm willing to do."

She opened her mouth to reply but he pressed a finger to her mouth. "You don't have to say anything now, I'll let-"

Before he could keep talking, the door to her office swung open and at the surprise of it she jumped away from Robin.

"Mom, Belle told me… oh I didn't know you were busy… I can come back later."

Blinking rapidly because the last she expected was for Henry to walk into her office in the middle of a school day, she smothered the fabric of her pants and forced out a smile. She didn't feel like smiling though because under the circumstances, Henry walking on her when she was with Robin was extremely inconvenient.

Ever since getting back and hearing about the things that went through in the island… well, most of the things anyway, her son has been harassing her about letting him meet Robin and she always had an excuse to cut the subject short and consequentially to avoid it. But now it was inevitable.

"No, I wasn't busy." She said, motioning Henry to come in. "Henry, this is Robin, Robin, this is Henry."

Smiling his dimply smile and extending a hand towards the boy, Robin's attention shifted. "Nice to meet you, heard quite a lot about you."

Henry smiled and shook the man's hand, clearly delighted. "Nice to meet you too. I kept asking my mom when she was going to introduce me to you."

"Is that so?" For a second he looked at her, but then he was back and giving all his attention to her son.

"Yeah, did you really made my mom eat lizard?"

Scoffing at how that seemed to be the question of the day, Regina rolled her eyes.

"Well, not only did she ate it, but she actually found it lovely."

"Cool." Snickering, Henry took a step forward. "I bet she got mad. Because she wont ever admit it, but she is kind of scared of them and when she gets scared she gets a little cranky."

"Okay." Regina said, reaching for the boy, meaning to cut the conversation short.

"Oh, that makes sense then, because she did get cranky with me and way too many times. Especially when I broke one of her shoes."

This time the boy laughed. "She has like hundreds of shoes back home so don't worry. So, can you teach me how to make a bonfire and stuff?"

"Henry, I'm sure Robin is quite busy and-"

"Sure I can, if your mother allows it, that is."

Turning to her, the boy grabbed her hands. "Please, mom, please, please." As he kept insisting, she arched an eyebrow and stared at Robin.

"I'm not that busy, I have time for it until I have to get back to work so maybe I can pick him up after school one of these days and take him with my boy. You can come if you want to." He said while staring back at her with a satisfied smile on his face and she couldn't help but to roll her eyes.

She knew what he was doing and it was a cheap shot.

"Mom, please."

"I'll think about it, okay. Now come on, we better get moving as you have to tell me why are you so early out of school today."

"Yes." He hissed even though she didn't gave a definite answer. "I'll get my backpack. And thanks Robin, it was nice meeting you." With that said the boy ran out of the office.

"That wasn't fair." She finally said, twisting her lips as she faced him.

"Why, just trying to make your boy happy. And I wasn't stretching it when I said I had all the time because I do. I have time for him and I have time to wait for you because believe it or not you are worth more than what you think, Regina. And if you don't believe it I'll make you see it."

With that said, he kissed her cheek and then he also walked out of her office and left her there, thinking.


	16. Chapter 16

She was supposed to be working. That was the main reason why she was back there, to work; but even if catching up with the mountain of paperwork that has been accumulating over her desk for the past few weeks was her main focus, she just couldn't put her mind into it.

She didn't fully understand how come it was so easy to slack, but the thing was that she has been back into office for a grand total of four days and even though she jumped head first into her duties, paperwork was something she has been neglecting. It was a huge contrast comparing to how organized she used to be and she wanted to be back to how it was.

That was why she was spending a Friday night in her office, because she meant to at least start sorting things through so that when Monday came she could be up to date.

That, at least, has been the plan, but the truth was that her intentions were futile as she just didn't know where to begin… well to be completely honest she hasn't even tried starting and she was aware that for all she was doing there she may as well go home and do the same thing, nothing… nada.

Doing that would have been the most sensible thing to do and she knew it, the only problem was that she just couldn't. No, being home would accomplish nothing, what she needed was to entertain her mind with something and what better way than with what used to consume her life prior the crash, tons and tons of work.

Reaching that conclusion was easy, after all through almost all her adult life work has been her escape, she took joy in it and found comfort in the routine it provided so being there when her mind wasn't still in the right place felt like the logical thing to do. Little did she know how much things have changed in such a short amount of time.

As it happened, all that she though mattered about work has been before the crash and now everything was different, she felt different and she couldn't find the purpose of it all. Now, as much as she has wanted to her mind didn't revolve purely around work; yes, it was ever present and yes it was important, but more often than not her mind would escape her body and wander away…

Most times, her thoughts would settle on Henry and the kind of life she was giving him; were all the crazy working hours worthy at the end of it? Was she sacrificing quality time with him in favor of a job? Other times she would question if what she was doing was really what she wanted in her life and more often than not, she would just think about Robin.

Now, as much as she tried to keep him off her mind, the truth was that he was basically the most predominant thought consuming her, especially now that there were two big reasons why he was a constant invader to her psyche. The first one was her job, going back to work meant she would run into him pretty often and second, Henry. Because for some reason her son has taken a high interest in the man and that little detail didn't help her case.

She even had to give in and allow Robin to pick the boy from school the previous week so he could take him out into the woods for the rest of the day and ever since he wouldn't just let go of the subject.

He was almost as excited about Robin as he has been when Emma came around and not only was that confusing, but it also meant that even when she was supposed to be enjoying her son, Henry constantly talking about what Robin taught him or what Robin said wouldn't allow her mind to really have a break from him.

Thus why she couldn't concentrate.

Now sure, he at least wasn't pressuring her into anything or even taking advantage of the Henry situation, but the fact that he was there so close was enough to shake her resolution big time.

Take that day for example, he has come to her office as per every single Friday for the past few months so that she could give him some files for him to revise; that morning Sydney has even been present when that occurred so she has tried not to put much thought into it, but for some reason his presence shook her off to the point where she couldn't even stomach drinking her coffee and what was worse, she wasn't able to provide what was needed so that the two of them could work.

She didn't have a professional excuse for that, it just happened to be that among all the things she had pending she couldn't find what he needed and after fumbling through the files and coming out empty handed she simply told him something about how he should ask for his files on Monday instead. It was something that has never happened to her and she needed to make sure it never repeated itself.

But more than being behind her paperwork, the truth resided in the fact that even if she has been up to date, at the time she felt like it would be impossible for her to spend half the day in her office with him. She obviously kept the last part to herself and just limited to excuse herself and he… he just smiled in that way he seemed to guard only for her, the glint in his eyes saying a thousand things that were left unsaid between them.

It has been a less than a ten minutes interaction and right in that moment, several hours after it happened she hadn't been able to get back into a productive frame of mind.

That was the amount of power he unknowingly had over her and she didn't know what to make of it. Should she just keep ignoring it until it all but faded away?

Running a hand through her hair as she wondered if doing that was even possible, Regina leaned back into the chair, taking in a deep breath as all the files and folders at her desk mocked her.

Maybe she should just go home, after all she has been sitting in the same spot for the good part of the last two hours and so far she has accomplished nothing other than to think about a man she couldn't have and breaking a record for the longest time she has stared at a phone.

Tilting her head to the side, she blinked. All the time that she has been sitting there the phone has remained sleeping over her desk, unmoving, silent… and the longer she stared at it the more she would fight against the urge of calling him.

It was a wild impulse that made no sense whatsoever, after all the only time she has ever called him was the day he picked Henry from school and what they talked about was limited to where and when would he bring her son back.

But now she wanted to do call him and she didn't even know why. It was too late to use a work related conversation and Henry was off with Emma so she couldn't use him as an excuse either.

Biting her lips, she reached forward and took the device, wrapping her fingers around it as she brought it closer to her so that her eyes could take a look at the screen. What would happen if she was to look for his number and just call him.

Would he answer? And if he did, what would she say?

In their last real conversation she made it clear that they needed to keep things professional and calling him just to hear his voice was against all she ever asked of him.

Tapping her fingers over her phone, she sighed and let it back over her desk. No, thinking about him was going to accomplish nothing and the only thing she should be focusing was on finishing with her paper work so that when Monday came, she could send him the files to be done with it.

Decided, she cleared her throat and grabbed the first file, and as soon as she did that the phone started ringing. It startled her, actually because it caught her completely off-guard she dropped all the papers in her hands, some landed on her lap and others went directly to the floor.

"Great." Annoyed at the inconvenience and already getting a hold on herself, she reached for the ringing device to see who was calling and as she read the name flashing in the screen she almost dropped it too.

It was Robin, and for a couple of seconds she was unsure if she should answer or not.

Why would he be calling anyway. It was way past his office hours so it was definitely not work related it. But why call then?

Clearing her throat and reaching for the phone, she grabbed it and answered. "Hello?" She asked in what she hoped was a neutral tone.

"Did you know that surviving a plane crash isn't as miraculous as it feels? I mean as it turns out about ninety-five percent of the people who get into them have survived."

Arching an eyebrow because of all the things she would have thought he was calling for, what he said hadn't even made it to the list. "Okay." She replied, a bit unsure of what else to say. "Well, I definitely didn't know that so thanks for sharing the information."

"Apparently we are pretty average. Of course, I couldn't find statistics about surviving deserted islands, shady modern pirates and wild boars so I guess if you pile all of what happened to us together we can say we are quite remarkable."

Leaning back against the chair, Regina bit lightly into her lips. "Can't forget being dropped off in a random African village to our luck."

"Or being bit by a pesky snake. Can't leave that one out."

"No we can't." Closing her eyes, she sighed. If her mind wasn't betraying her, last time she had such a lighthearted conversation with Robin has been back when they were at the Island and yes, she couldn't lie, it felt nice.

The last couple of weeks had been too stressful for her for so many reason and in that moment, just listening to him being silly was refreshing. The timbre of his voice was soothing and in that little exchange of words his accent even started to stir a longing in her that has never really gotten away.

She couldn't put a finger into it, but in that night and in that moment, she felt defenseless against him and that he called and she answered couldn't be good like at all.

She couldn't lose any kind of ground whatsoever so forcing her frame of mind to go back to where it was supposed to be, which was of course not giving into what she felt, she opened her eyes and cleared her throat.

"What do you want, Robin? Because I'm sure you didn't call just to give me that oh so precious information."

She heard him scoff at the other end of the line. She also heard music and lively chatter in the background of wherever it was that he was calling her from. "I want to see you."

His response simple and it was direct to the point. She wasn't expecting him to say it like that.

"You saw me, earlier today." In fact he has seen her for four days straight. Now it may be true that they hadn't been alone in any of those occasions and the few times they had crossed words had been work related, but he has seen her nonetheless.

Besides she already established that they were going to keep things strictly professional and that call, it was anything but that.

By all rights she should have hung up on him long ago…

"I know, but as it happens I want to see you now; are you at your house?"

As if she would tell him if she was. No, Robin at her house when Henry wasn't there, especially since her mother finally packed her things and left, was the worse idea ever, at least if she wanted to hold on onto the resolution of keeping herself away from him.

"I am not. And you'll see me on Monday, at the office like everyone else."

"Well that's a real bummer." The background noise on his side grew a bit louder and she knitted her brows, wondering where could he be.

"What's that horrible noise?"

He snorted. She could almost picture him in her head; dimple smile full on display as he held the phone close to his ear. "Where I come from it's called music. Believe it or not some people find it quite enjoyable."

"Well some people are tone deaf and apparently they are all with you. Let me guess, judging by the screeching you are at Granny's, karaoke night?"

"Why, are you going to come and keep me company? I definitely think you should, I mean I owe you a drink and I really, really hate being in debt with people."

Snorting, Regina rolled her eyes. Maybe she has kept the conversation go on for too long and maybe by being responsive she was giving him the impression that she was flirting, thing that she wasn't doing… at least not in her mind. Was she being too amicable? Not enough, but she wasn't being her regular cutting self.

"Granny's is not exactly the kind of place I think I would enjoy." Apparently afterhours it was noisy, full of people and well, there was _him_. The last thing she needed was being seen in that kind of ambient and interacting with the man.

"Even better, I know of a much quieter place we could go. Do you need me to pick you up?"

"Oh, no, that has to be a no. I have work to do so, definitely not a good idea."

"You're working on a Friday night?"

Taking in a deep breath and biting her tongue not to tell him that being Mayor wasn't a nine to five duty nor was it Monday to Friday, she lowered her eyes to her desk. "I need to catch up with some things, I've been gone a while and I don't know if you noticed but I have tons of neglected paperwork to do."

"Then let me go and give you a hand."

She closed her eyes and threw her head back against the chair. This was her fault, all of it. She should have hung up long ago or better yet, she should have told him a rotund no when he began to get the crazy idea that he could see her that night. But she didn't and now she had to cut him off on dry.

"Robin, I thought we talked about this and I was very clear, so you go ahead and keep enjoying your night and, well um, keep doing whatever it is that you do. I have more pressing things to do other than chit-chatting with you."

"Regina." He began to say and the background noise started to diminish. It was as if he was walking away from it. "You know we didn't exactly talk about it, it was more like you imposed on us what you wanted and left me to deal with it how I could."

Blowing out a breath and using her nails to scratch the top of her head, she wondered why she was still keeping the conversation going. "You know that-"

Before she could go on, he interrupted her. "The only thing that I know is that yes, I'm here, like you said, with everything I need to be having a good time and yet all I can think is about you. I don't want to, Regina, I really don't but that's the way it is."

"Robin…"

"I'm not asking for anything other than to see you. I won't try anything… if that's what makes you uncomfortable. I can just pass by and even help you. It will even work in my favor since I have to go through all your paper work eventually so in a way it will be as you asked, strictly professional. I promise I'll behave."

Blowing out a breath, she tapped a finger to her lips and thought about it. Rationally speaking, what he was proposing was such a terrible idea that she should just say no and hang the phone, but at the same time she wanted him there, she wanted to see him too.

"So coffee and something to eat?"

Unaware of it, she made a grimace at the sole mention of coffee and shook her head. It was too late for that and because she wasn't hungry either, she would have to decline. "No, I'm okay here."

"Then give me ten minutes and I'll be there."

With that said, the line went dead at his end and she had to blink a couple of times as realization started to sink in. He was coming. He was actually really going to come over.

Clearing her throat, she got to her feet and made it towards the bathroom. Sure, she wasn't planning on anything and she needed to kept it in her mind that nothing was going to happen, but she still did her best to freshen up and check her appearances.

Once satisfied she unlocked the main entrance and then headed back into her office. She didn't want him to know that she has been there doing nothing so she started sorting some of the files and began going over them.

By the time he arrived, at least fifteen minutes had passed, not the ten he said. Of course she didn't mention it, she just arched an eyebrow and looked at him as he closed the door behind him.

All the intensity of his stare was on her and finding it a bit too much, she lowered her eyes and tried to focus on the work at hand. Her heart was beating hard and fast against her chest and she could listen the secure steps he was taking towards her.

He didn't say anything though, thing that was odd and that made her look at him once more. By then he was walking pass her desk and making his way to her.

She didn't have much time to voice it, but that he wasn't taking his usual spot in the chair at the other side of the desk felt wrong and she even parted her lips to say something about it, but before she could he grabbed her face and kissed her.

Caught by surprise, she rested her hands to his shoulders and keeping her hold on her, he made her go to her feet; when he deepened the kiss she angled her face to give him full access.

It all happened too fast, so fast that she didn't know what to do. Sure, she was fully aware of what she should do, but as if her body was victim of a spell that froze her to the spot, she just remained there, kissing him back.

What else was there to do? As wrong as it was, he was what she wanted. Still, after a while she was able to pull an inch away to try to collect her thoughts.

"Robin… you promised."

Sliding his hands to her hips and moving his mouth to her throat, he breathed into her. He also grabbed her closer to him. "I lied."

Capturing her lips once again, he made his hands slid underneath her skirt until his fingers reached her underwear and then he started to pull them down.

All that she let him do and when he lifted her up and placed her over the desk, she didn't even worry about the paperwork, she just gave him room to accommodate himself and kissing him with the same enthusiasm that he was kissing her, she let herself be carried away in the moment…


	17. Chapter 17

****

It was scary how easy it has been for him to come into her office and knock down all the walls she thought she had rebuilt around herself.

He didn't even have to say much for her to give into the moment, he just walked in as if he owned the damn place, kissed her with everything that he had and that was it.

She put zero resistance into his advances and before she knew it she was doing the unimaginable, which was having sex over her desk as if she was the cheap actress of some low budget adult film.

It was unbelievable how she allowed herself to be swept and she just honestly didn't know how she let that happen. In some way, she wanted to think that she caved into him because everything has been so rushed that she had no time to armor herself against him. But if she was to be completely honest she had to admit that she let him take all those liberties because whether she wanted or not, he had that amount of power over her.

Look at what she just allowed him to do, she let him have her in her office, everything else be damned. She let his hands tangle into her hair as he entered her, she permitted his mouth to savor her skin and she let him kiss her until there was no breath left in her.

She let him had her body while ravishing her soul.

And not only that, but she also did her own share of touching and kissing and when his intentions of taking her right in the spot has been clear, she did nothing to stop it.

It has been raw, a thing of the moment and in her mind that made it even worse because it meant she didn't have any kind of self-control when it came to him.

In a way, realizing that felt so very wrong, especially since the need to have her didn't even allow him the time to do things properly, but at the same time knowing that he has wanted her so bad that he only managed to slid her panties off her legs before claiming her as his made the whole thing feel way too intense.

She plain and simple hadn't been able to resist him; he came like the devil himself tempting her in all imaginable ways and she just fell for it. She was still trembling with the impact of her own release and she couldn't lie, wrong as it has been she has enjoyed it all and very much.

True, what happened was definitely not one of her proudest moments because doing what she did was definitely not in her character, especially not at the office, but even as she was aware of how wrong it has been to give him the reign of doing as he pleased with her, at the same time she felt like the biggest hypocrite ever because well, the fact was that Robin was still inside of her and she wasn't even attempting to push him off.

Quite the contrary, as he gave a few final thrusts and spilled his warm essence inside of her she held him tight, her legs wrapped around his hips to make him go deeper and her fingers burying into his short hair.

She even had to bite her lips not to voice how much she loved that intimate moment in which he marked her as his.

Now, as that happened, he groaned low in his throat and licking her lips and tilting her head up to give room so that he could rest his face into the crook of her neck, she closed her eyes and took everything he had to give.

She was swollen and the blood rushing to the most private parts of her anatomy made her feel a bit feverish, but by then her heart was already going back to normal and she relaxed the hold her legs had on him. She still clung to him, but in the sweet aftermatch of what happened between them she didn't feel the need to pull him so close into her that it would be hard to tell when one started to be and where the other ended.

Apparently spent, Robin kissed her shoulder, dragging his lips up until his mouth was brushing the underside of her jaw.

She took that moment to try and gain some composure and maybe force them both to go back to reality so dropping her arms from him she cleared her throat.

"Well, you got what you came looking for so you better leave now." As she said that, she accommodated the top of her dress so that her bra wouldn't show and started to look around to see if she could spot her underwear.

She couldn't see it from the place where she was sitting, but she definitely felt the way he pulled slightly away from her. He remained inside of her though, his hands firmly set on her hips.

In a way she hated him for that, because how was she supposed to stand strong in her resolution of sending him away since she could still feel him inside?

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Rolling her eyes, she pressed the palm of her hands to his chest and made him take a step away from her. It made him completely slid out of her and even when the void made her feel a sense of lost, she was glad. Once she had room to climb down from the desk she did, pulling the skirt of her dress down to cover herself.

"Just go, Robin."

She turned her back on him to try and see if there was any damage done to the papers, but before she could even begin he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer.

His hand ended up resting to her stomach and his lips pressed to her hair. Despite her words she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, trying her best to ignore the feeling of his still warm seed running down her legs.

As it seemed she was in dire need of a little bit of cleaning.

"I don't get why you try to run from this, Regina." He whispered. "And no, I didn't come here just for this. It was a nice plus though."

Clicking her tongue to her teeth, she saw her underwear lying in the floor and she went for the small article of clothing, using it to wipe all trace of him off of her.

Once she was done she lifted the spoiled piece of fabric and with a scowl in her face she showed it to him. "Look at what you did."

Lowering his eyes for a second he bit into his lips and took a step closer to her. She felt like backing off but she stood her ground, not wanting to show how weak he was making her feel. At least he already zipped his pants so there was no indecent part of his anatomy sticking out.

"You still want me to help with that?" He pointed to her desk and she shook her head no.

"I think you did enough damage as it is."

Not minding her words, he took another step closer and grabbing her hips, he got her close enough so that she ended up pressed to him once again. "Well since there's no work to do how about if I take you out to grab something to eat."

"Robin." She breathed out and tilted her head up so that she could look at him in the eyes. "This… thing that just went on, it has to be the last time it ever happens."

She wasn't even going to bother in telling him why because he knew the reasons well enough.

"It doesn't have to be, you know that." Moving his hand up her face, he brushed his knuckles to her cheek. "And I'm not talking about what just happened here because that's not all I want from you. Actually, as nice as this is…" He used both his hands and dragged them over her body. "What I want goes deeper than it. I want all of what you are."

Scoffing because that was a bit corny even for him, she arched an eyebrow. "So what do you suggest, you want us to keep meeting like this, behind everyone's back? Do you even realize how that can backfire on us?"

Doing that was risky and apt to end in a disaster. Storybrooke was a small town and gossip spread like wildfire. If anyone ever saw them together she could as well kiss her career goodbye.

He shrugged. "I'll do whatever I have to do to make this work. I'm willing to give up anything, especially if it's this boring paperwork you force me to do."

Now he was being foolish and as a rule that would grant an immediate eye roll from her part, but instead of that she chuckled, resting her forehead to his chest and closing her eyes.

She could still feel every fiber of her being standing on edge after falling victim to the sweet urgency in which he took everything she had to give, and now, having him so close with his scent invading all her senses it was even harder to remember why it was that they couldn't be.

Reasons like gossip and something so mundane as work felt so vague in that moment that she had to shake her head in order to force her mind back into a rational safe zone.

"It's not fair having you come here saying those things, Robin, it really isn't."

His hand buried into her hair and he made her look at him.

"What's not fair is you trying to pretend there's nothing going on between us. Out of your mouth you imply that you feel something for me but that we can't be together; you keep repeating that to me and you say it to yourself over and over again, but deep inside you know you want the same thing I want."

"I don't know what I want." She admitted. "Not only when it comes to you but overall… And you coming here and doing this is not helping."

"Well apparently keeping me away isn't working either so who's to say you are not doing it all wrong. Maybe what you need is more of me."

This one granted the eye roll. "I'm being serious here, Robin."

"And so do I. Regina, you know where I stand when it comes to you so I'll make no apologies in trying to reach into you. I know you don't see it this way but I've lost… so much in life and so much has gone wrong that I just… I'm not willing to live halfway through knowing that nothing of what we have at our reach can be taken for granted. I'll live for what I want now and you are a big part of it. I want you, all of you and if that means having to find another job then I'll do it without any kind of regrets."

"You don't even know me that well to say that." And in her mind that was the truth.

Yes, he apparently knew every gossip ever told about her, yes they worked together and sure, they spent quite some time stranded in a deserted Island, place where she opened up to him and told him things she has never told a soul in her life.

But she didn't think that he still knew all there was to her to be wanting to risk something as important as his way to bring bread to his table. Hell, she has hidden and then buried the woman she has once been the moment she lost Daniel and her child and then when she became Mayor she finished with whatever remained behind, so honestly speaking she didn't even think she knew herself that much anymore.

But the little that she still knew was enough to know that she wasn't worth it. She was broken in places that could not be mended and dragging him down with her was something she didn't want to put him through.

"I think I do know you pretty well but if that worries you so much I can fix it, let me get to know more of you… outside this building of course. Let's get out of here, out of town if it's necessary."

"You are talking crazy now."

"Let's do it now, just for what's left of the weekend, it will be just me, you… and my kid of course because I can't leave him behind. So take that as a safe token to prove I'll truly behave this time."

Wrinkling her nose because apparently the fact that he wanted her to interact with his son meant that he was being serious, she sighed. But then again, he has interacted with Henry so what did it all mean?

But not wanting to go there, she cleared her throat. "Well all that sounds lovely, but I don't think it's so much of a great idea."

"It's only fair. For the past couple of weeks you've been trying to figure out how to keep going after the crash and nothing clear has come to you. Well, I think now it's my turn. We can go somewhere away from here we can interact more freely and that way you'll have a clear idea of what is it that you really want."

Chewing on her lips, she considered it. The way she saw it, doing that was dangerous because she knew what she wanted, she wanted him.

Spending the weekend with him would only make her want the life she could have with him even more and she knew she was going to end up pulling her name out from the upcoming election.

She has already toyed with the idea so imagine what other crazy idea she could get if she went with him.

"I don't know, Robin."

"I promise to bring you back before Henry comes back."

Not even wanting to know how he knew that Henry was away with Emma, she blew out a breath. "You promise to behave and don't be pushy?"

He lifted a hand. "Promise."

She scoffed because what happened there happened after he promised that he only wanted to see her and look how that ended up. But in this getaway he was bringing his son so how bad could it be? Having the boy there had to at least grant her some kind of safety, right?

Shrugging and deep inside knowing her fate was sealed already, she shrugged. "Okay, we'll do that, I'll go with you."

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

The moment she saw his car pulling over in front of her house, she couldn't help but to feel a strong sense of déjà vu sweeping over her. It was as if she has lived the moment a thousand times before, almost all of those times in her nightmares and well, even thought she always saw herself as a strong woman that could face anything, in that moment she felt as if she was about to panic.

The feeling found her completely unprepared, it was as overwhelming as it was strange to her and it took all the power of her being to ignore the sensation and walk out the sanctuary of her home and towards the automobile.

She did it as if in automatic, her legs moving with steady steps but her mind racing a thousand miles per second. The palm of her hands felt damp, her heart was beating unmercifully fast against her ribcage and her jaw was painfully clenched. She managed though, but when she opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat she was trembling and her stomach hurt.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Instead of answering, she gave him the small travel bag she brought with her for the short getaway and blew out a shaky breath. He took it, placing it right besides the sleeping boy in the backseat of his car before leaning forward to kiss her.

It was a brief kiss, he didn't linger long enough but he did let his hand cradle her face as he searched for her eyes once he pulled away.

She did not even moved a muscle in return, she just received the contact of his warm lips against her and blinked a couple of times as he stared deep into her eyes. "I don't think this is a good idea, I mean isn't it too late to have him out?"

Once the words were out she shifted her gaze towards his son, the boy she has heard so much about but whom she hadn't properly met yet. He was peacefully sleeping in his car seat and the innocent image of him only added to the apprehension she was feeling.

"Alright, tell me what's wrong? His voice came out low but soothing and for a couple of seconds she closed her eyes.

What was wrong? Scoffing and running a hand through her hair, she wondered if she should start mentioning all the things that were wrong about what they were doing.

To start things, they had a four years old boy out of bed in the middle of the night and ready to embark in a journey to God only knew where, then it was the fact that ethically speaking, what they were doing was wrong and finally it was what had her feeling a sense of dread eating her entrails and that was that she couldn't help but to realize that the last time she did something as irresponsible as this, she ended up with a dead fiancé, a dead baby and a lifelong trauma.

That was an experience she didn't care repeating ever again, especially if it came out of her being selfish.

"I don't think this is right."

"Regina-" Robin started to say as he used the hand he still had on her face to make her look at him. "There's nothing I want more than to take you out of here and spend a couple of days with you, but if you are not sure about this I won't force you to it."

Swallowing on dry, she fought hard against the urge of taking the opportunity to get back into her house. Doing that was playing it safe not only for herself but to everyone involved and that was how she liked her life, safe; but if truth be told, there was a bigger need in her that was not letting her follow her instinct, a part of her that wanted nothing more than doing as Robin has been saying, a part of her that wanted to live her life like it was meant to be.

Maybe nothing would come out of the trip, maybe they would come back and keep on with their life… she actually didn't know, but for once she wanted not to think of what was about to come and just… do instead of think.

"I do want to go, but…" She shrugged, realizing that she should probably leave it there. Saying out loud that she was terrified of her past repeating itself would come out as too intense and perhaps too personal and she didn't want to go there.

But then again this was Robin and even though their relationship was among the most complicated things she has done personally, she felt like she could tell him anything.

"I don't know why but this kinds of freaks me out. You know, sneaking out... last time I did something like this things turned out for the worse."

As if they were not in front of her house and under the risk of someone seeing them, Robin turned on his seat so that he could face her. By then his hands were no longer on her face and he searched for her own hands so that he could grab them.

"Regina, if I took you out of a sinking plane and didn't let you starve when I thought you were quite annoying and too haughty for your own good, what makes you think I'll let anything happen to you now?"

Her lips quirked at his attempt of humoring her but when he flashed her way his patented dimple smile she couldn't help but to snort. Now, as she did that she realized that she didn't have to explain no more to him because he understood where did her apprehension come from, so taking a page out of his book she tried to follow his pace instead.

Maybe he was right, maybe there was nothing to fear so if she was really going to do this she may as well do it right.

"You though I was annoying?" She asked, trying to push all bad thought from her mind. Not that she was able to vanish the irrational fear, but she was at least going to do her best to keep them to the back of her head.

"Oh definitely, you were so taut that there was no way to get to you and yeah, that was bloody annoying."

She just hummed, saying nothing about his latest comment but this time when he closed the distance between them to claim her lips once more she met him halfway and reciprocated the contact.

She kissed him right this time and for several seconds she just did that, but as if remembering herself she pulled away and cleared her throat, her eyes moving to the backseat.

Roland was still sleeping so she looked out, scanning the empty streets to make sure there was no one lurking around that could spot the Mayor kissing with her auditor.

There was no one.

"So where is it that we are supposed to go?"

Clicking his tongue, Robin steadied himself before putting the car on drive. "I have a friend who has this cabin just outside of town, he never uses it so every once in a while Roland and I go there. Actually, I mentioned it to your boy and he said he wanted to check it out so if you like it next time we can bring him along."

Arching an eyebrow, she leered at him. He was focused driving so she said nothing, but the fact that he was assuming there was going to be a next time definitely didn't go unnoticed.

"And your son, don't you think it will be weird for him to see me tagging along?"

"I think he'll love the company. He's a lively boy but unfortunately he always falls asleep as soon as his behind touches that car seat. I swear he was awake when I took him out but before I could very well take the first curve he passed out. He was excited to meet you."

Taking yet another look to the backseat, she smiled. She definitely hoped nothing that would put the kid on harms way would happen.

Luckily, nothing did and after a little more than an hour driving and some small talk, they arrived to the cabin Robin talked about.

It was secluded without being creepy and yes, it was definitely a place Henry would love.

Getting out of the car and watching as Robin took her things to then carry the sleeping Roland inside, she followed him. He went straight towards a bedroom and letting her bag over the dresser, he smiled. "I'm going to put him to bed in the other bedroom and then take care of a couple of things, just get comfortable, okay?"

Chewing on her lips she nodded before watching him go out. Once alone she did as he said, found the bathroom, changed, refreshed herself and then back into the bedroom she went.

It was just about midnight and realizing she was tired, she climbed in bed. She probably dozed off for a couple of minutes but when she felt the mattress sink she woke up startled.

"It's just me." He said, his arms circling her waist and pulling her closer against him.

Humming and closing her eyes, she molded her back against him and sighed. In a way, this also felt like a déjà vu moment and her mind couldn't help but to go back to the Island so that she could remember all the times they went to 'bed' like that.

Out of necessity, they slept like that almost every night, trying to absorb as much body heat as they could. They hadn't been exactly getting along back to those first times, but when darkness would fall and the icy cold breeze would sweep around them, cuddling like that was a most.

Who would have thought they would end up like they were now.

"I think this is the only thing I've missed from the Island, having you like this." As if he has been reading her mind, he said.

"That suspiciously sounds like you were taking advantage of me the whole time to feel me up."

He laughed at that, she felt his chest rock against her back as he did.

"I think I better keep my mouth shut about this one. I can't deny nor confirm that."

"Are you aware that sometimes silence speaks more than words?" She asked as she felt his lips in her hair.

"Well, I'll just say that no matter what was on my mind, I always acted a gentleman with you. To that you can't say otherwise."

Humming, she turned on her stomach and tilted her head to the side so that she could see his face. He was right, he never acted improperly or touched her in a manner that made her feel uncomfortable.

"No you didn't. At least not until you kissed me."

The arm that has been circling her waist came to rest against her lower back with this new position.

"Well, that I did very courteously. Besides you have to give me some credit about holding it for so long considering I had wanted to do that for a long time. I was sure you were going to slap the taste out of my mouth, luckily you didn't."

Her lips curved into a smile as she remembered that night. It felt like a lifetime ago and yet, she remembered it all very clearly.

Blinking slowly, she watched his face, her eyes taking on his features. "Why did you want me to come here with you? I mean you know that when we return we have to go back to how we were." Meaning that she was going back to treat him as indifferent as she would be able to and on his part he would have to do the same.

"Do you honestly think that will be possible? Acting as if this wasn't real?"

She shrugged even though she knew the answer to that was a rotund no.

"Listen, because I want you to have this very clear in your head. You know how I feel about you and as long as I think you feel for me even half of what I feel, which I know you do, I won't let this go."

"Robin-" She closed her eyes, wanting to say so many things, but before she could start organizing her thoughts he pressed a finger to her lips to silence her.

"But let's not worry about that now so how about if we just focus in today."

"Just in today."

"Like in how I noticed you smell different than how you did in the Island. I like it." As if to prove his point he leaned closer and buried his nose into the crook of her neck.

Scoffing, she pulled away and arched both her eyebrows. "Is that code to say I smelled bad in the Island?"

"I didn't say that." He chuckled, "I liked everything about you when we were back in the Island. Well, everything but that smartass mouth you had back there. But you know, it's just different."

Knowing what he meant because he lost the fresh scent of sea water as well, she decided to leave it there.

"I also like this," He said, moving his hand from where it has been resting over her lower back to slide it over her backside. He used said hand to get a good handful of her flesh. "You are definitely… fuller."

Wrinkling her nose, she gasped. She did it just for the sake of if because she knew what he meant. In the Island she didn't notice but when she got back home she realized the strict diet of lizard made her lose quite some weight. She was getting it back now and well, maybe more that what she needed because that same morning she noticed that her clothes were starting to feel a little tight now. Not much, but enough for her to notice.

"Oh so you are now saying I'm fat. You know, I think I want to go back home now." She did as if she was going to leave and he used both his hands to grab her hips and made her stay in place.

"You are not going anywhere." Once he said that, he made her turn on her back and he kissed her.

Her lips automatically parted for him and his tongue went to search for hers. They immediately engaged in that old dance of brushing against one another and swirling together and it wasn't until the need to breath made them break apart that she realized that she wanted this for as long as she could have it.

That was probably why she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him back into the kiss.

He moved, hovering over her, his knees resting at each sides of her thigh. She held him to her while the kiss started to escalate in intensity, and as that happened he grabbed her hand and placed it over the more than obvious bulge inside his pants.

Letting a low growl escape her mouth and into his, she grabbed what she could and started to stroke him.

"That's what you do to me." He hissed, pulling from the kiss and placing his lips instead to her collarbone. "I came here just to talk and look what you do."

Biting her lips and closing her eyes as his tongue darted out to taste her skin, she kept the movement of her hand steady, moving along his length.

"Just as you came into my office earlier tonight just to see me?" Her voice, low and sultry against his ear came out as teasing.

He scoffed, but when she started to fumble with his pants to open the zipper, he didn't object, especially when she finally released him and continued her ministration but without the inconvenience of his clothes in between. "That one was on you too. I don't know what you do to me."

Apparently not wanting to stay behind, he inserted his hand inside her own clothes, going pass her panties until he found what he was looking for.

Sucking in a breath, she trembled as he used his middle finger to part her. "You're wet."

Spreading her legs as far as her pants would let her, she licked her lips. "That's what you do to me."

Claiming her mouth back with his, he kissed her, and just as his tongue broke pass her lips, he pushed a finger deep into her core. The feeling of that made her gasp and she used the opportunity to let her hand slide as low as she could, grabbing the base of his erection to then going back to the very crown of it.

She repeated the motion, and for every stroke she would give him, a thrust of his finger deep into her was received. If she quickened the pace so would he and the sensation made her hips shoot forward, it made her feel hot all over and feeling as if that wasn't enough she pulled from the kiss. "I want you."

Not having to be told twice, he kicked his clothes away. She did the same, and once they were bare of everything he pulled her legs apart, got in position and pushed into her.

They went at it with the calm of those who have no worries, kissing, touching and trying to keep as quiet as they could not to wake the boy sleeping in the other bedroom.

When they were done, spent and more than content, he helped her clean up. Once set he kissed her forehead. "As much as I would love staying here with you, I think it's better if my boy wakes up with me sleeping with him.

Too sleepy to function properly, she nodded. "I know."

Smiling, he watched her for a few seconds. "But since he wakes up at the wee hours of the morning I'll probably go out and buy a few things to cook you a real breakfast, how about that? Coffee included, of course, we'll probably need it."

Shaking her head and making a grimace, she groaned. "No coffee for me, I can't seem to stomach it as of late."

"Hmm, is that so?"

Snuggling into the pillow, she closed her eyes and sighed. "I'll have the breakfast though as long as it's not lizard."

For a long while nothing was heard and she thought he left, but then his accented voice broke the silence. "Can I ask you something?"

She nodded, but when he said nothing she opened her eyes to find him staring at her. "What?"

Snorting, he leaned forward and pecked her lips. "Nothing, we'll talk in the morning."

"Okay."

But he didn't leave, he just remained there staring at her as if he knew something that she didn't.

"Okay, what is it?"

Biting on his lips he shrugged. "Just watching you... and Regina, you are definitely fuller."

She groaned and sat up to find a shirt to cover herself. "Get out of here before I decide to Uber myself back home."

Not minding her words, he kissed her. At first she tried to move her face away because well, no woman liked when people noticed about their weight but he was insistent and she ended up kissing him back.

"You think I'm going to let you get away now?"

Rolling her eyes she broke away and put on the shirt. Then, she lay down and tried to ignore what he just said. "Goodnight Robin."

With that dismissal she closed her eyes until she finally fell asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

"Regina-"

As soon as she heard her name being called in that familiar accent she has come to yearn so much, the black haired woman known as Mayor Mills blinked her eyes open, the warm chocolate orbs trying to focus in the poor lighted room.

Her vision was blurry and fuzzy and as she stared through heavy eyelids at her surroundings, the notion came to her that she didn't know where she was.

For a wild moment she even though she was back at the Island and if it wasn't because she knew herself to be in a bed, a real comfortable one she would truly believe it. After all in the Island was the only place were she would wake up to the sound of Robin's voice.

Could it be that she was dreaming?

"Hey,"

Feeling a little lost but following the sound of his voice this time, she sat up way too quickly, thing that made her almost slam her head against his own face as she swirled towards where she believed him to be.

He steading her though, grabbing her shoulders and making her face him. It was as he did that that she began to remember what happened the night before and how she agreed to leave Storybrooke with him.

Blinking as her eyes adjusted, she noticed that he was smiling his infamous dimple smile and that he was definitely looking more alert than how she felt.

"Are you planning on staying in bed all day long?"

Groaning, she closed her eyes and lay back down. She felt tired, ridiculously so and wanting to sleep a little longer she dragged the heavy comforter over her head, drowning out of her sight everything but pure darkness.

Down beneath the covers she found comfort so she sighed, but before she could drift off into a slumber she felt him pull the covers away.

"Is it morning yet?" She asked a bit annoyed over the fact that he wouldn't let her sleep, her voice raspy and her hair all over her face.

"It is, ten in the morning to be exact."

"What?" She asked, sitting back up because to her standards that was extremely late. As a rule she was an early raiser and she couldn't even remember the last time she slept past seven o'clock, let alone until ten.

Using one of his hands to brush her hair behind her ears, Robin's smile grew even more. "If you are too tired you can stay here, you know."

Trying to shake off her system the groggy feeling taking over her entire being, Regina dragged a hand down her face. "No, I'll… just give me a minute and I'll be up."

With that said she cleared her throat. By then she was a bit more aware of what was happening; she overslept, that was why she was feeling so awful and the only remedy for that was getting up.

With that in mind she climbed out of bed, feeling very conscious that Robin was watching all her lazy movements. It felt like her limbs were still asleep and definitely not responding to her commands so she groaned.

"Are you alright?" More than concerned, Robin's tone came off as amused.

"I'm fine… I just..." Shaking her head and looking around as if to get a more clear idea of where she was, Regina turned on the light. The sudden brightness made her cringe and she had to cover her eyes with her arm for a second. "God, what did you do to me last night, drug me?"

She didn't know why she was feeling so out of it. This was definitely not what she was used to in the mornings.

At her obvious discomfort, Robin snorted and she felt him grab her waist to make her swirl to him. She went willingly, resting her face on his shoulder while his hand cradled the back of her head.

"Madam Mayor, you're looking kind of a hot mess right now."

"Well thank you, that's just what I needed to hear to feel better."

He kissed the top of her head and slid his hands down her arms. "Just so you know, that was a compliment. You look completely out of it but you look hot doing it. I definitely like it."

To what he said, Regina just blew out a breath because she felt anything but hot. A mess? Yes.

"Anyhow, Roland and I just came back from to the grocery store so what do you say, are you up for a late breakfast-early lunch?"

Humming, she pulled away from him and kept looking around. "I need a shower first, I can't think straight right now."

With that said, she put on some pants, grabbed her things and headed directly towards the bathroom. Once she did her morning rituals in there and after taking an icy cold shower that woke up all her senses to make her feel a lot better, she got dressed, ready and walked out.

Now, once in the cabin's open living room, she saw Robin and Roland sitting over a couch watching TV and somehow feeling antsy about meeting the four years old she cleared her throat to make her presence known. "Good morning."

Both father and son looked at her, Robin getting to his feet and Roland kneeling over the couch so that he could take a peek at her over the back of the seat.

She tried to smile, but she was afraid it came more like a grimace.

"Come here, Roland." Robin said as he took a few steps towards Regina. "I want you to meet someone."

The boy did as he was told and practically jumped towards his father, standing by his side and hugging the older man's leg. He did so without taking his curious eyes away from her.

"This is Regina, she's a very special friend of mine. Regina, this is my boy, Roland."

Bending down a little when Roland stepped forward, she smiled, this time the gesture feeling more adequate. "Hello, Roland. I've heard so much about you so it's nice to finally meet you."

As if he was older than his four years of age, Roland proudly extended his hand to her. She took it and chuckled when he shook it.

"Are you Henry's mom?"

"Yes, I am."

"Is he going to come?"

"I'm afraid not."

Shrugging and smiling the same dimple smile than his father, the kid let go of her hand. "What is a special friend, like a girlfriend?"

Taken aback, her eyes opened a little too wide and she immediately looked at Robin for back up as she didn't know what to reply to that.

"Alright… why don't you go and finish watching your cartoons little man."

"Okay."

And just like that he was back to the couch.

Scratching his head, Robin chuckled as she straightened up. "If the shower didn't wake you up then that sure did it."

Blowing out a breath, she looked at him and arched both eyebrows. "I don't remember Henry being so straightforward at that age."

Snorting, Robin took a quick glance at the boy to then settle his eyes back on her. "That one's quite a handful. So, should I fix you something to eat now?" He paused, tilting his head before heading into the kitchen. "Perhaps some coffee to help you wake up? I've spent many mornings working at your office to remember you needed a good dose of it to get you started. Belle even told me once how you can't function without it."

Rolling her eyes at how every single detail of her life seemed to be a gossip, she wrinkled her nose.

"No, I'm okay. I think I'll do just with some toast if there's any."

Humming once again, he proceeded to put some sliced bread in the toaster and she sat in the counter, resting her chin into her hand as she watched him work. "Just toast. Well, not quiet challenging to show off my culinary skills but definitely something within my expertise."

Now, Regina still felt a bit sleepy, but not quiet enough not to appreciate what he was doing. It was nice, and definitely something she could get used to.

When her choice of breakfast was done she ate it like it was and washed it down with orange juice.

"So," Robin began to say as he clapped his hands to gather his son's attention. " What are we going to do today? Where do you two want to go?"

"Disney!" Roland yelled way too excitedly and while Regina snorted at the response, Robin had no other choice than to hiss his disapproval.

"I was actually thinking about somewhere within driving distance. A very short driving distance."

"Oh, I know, the lake! We want to go to the lake. We won't even have to drive."

Sending a wink her way, Robin shrugged. "What does our guest say, she has the final word."

Doing a double take, Regina scoffed. "Me? I'll go wherever Roland wants to go."

"Yay!" Once again jumping out of the couch, the boy landed on the floor and then after doing a quick victory dance he ran towards his bedroom.

Regina watched him disappear and then moved her eyes towards the father of the more than energetic boy.

He was leaning over the counter while watching her. "Hi." He said as if they just saw each other and without giving her time to reply he pressed his mouth to hers.

It started as a lingering peck, but then he tugged at her bottom lip with his teeth before smoothing the spot over with his tongue. She reacted by touching her own tongue to his and when he sough entrance into the cave of her mouth she granted it.

It was quick though, and when he pulled away she ended up wishing for more.

"So did you have a good night's sleep?"

"I completely passed out; I don't even know how I slept so much. How about you?"

Clicking his tongue against his teeth, Robin shrugged. "Well, even though someone around here wore me out, twice during the whole night, I didn't sleep like at all."

Scoffing because they had indeed gave into each other twice, first in her office and then in the cabin, she lowered her face and bit on her lips.

While doing so, her hair ended up hiding her features and she was glad because she could definitely feel her skin blushing. Now, she was far from being a prude, but how she completely lost control in her office was definitely something out of character for her.

It didn't make her feel embarrassed, that wasn't why her skin was flushed, if she had that reaction it was because the memory of it definitely made her feel edgy. She felt like she could do it again without thinking it twice and she didn't think that was a good thing.

"I should have been the one sleeping until late." He said, walking around the counter so that he could be at the other side next to her.

Once there he made her stool move so that she could face him and grabbing her hips he leaned into her so that he could kiss the corner of her mouth.

"Hopefully, tonight's repeat will help me sleep some." As it to put emphasis on what he meant, he slid his hands up her thighs and underneath the loose dress she was wearing and gave her flesh a squeeze.

Running the tip of her tongue against the edge of her teeth, Regina moved her lips towards his ear and keeping her tone low, she spoke. "And what makes you think there's going to be a repeat tonight?"

"Oh there will be, you can be sure about that."

"I'm ready papa!"

Startling a little at the sudden interruption, Regina jumped in her chair and Robin immediately pulled away from her. Roland was there, apparently oblivious to what they have been doing while sporting a bathing suit and a huge grin on his face.

Turning to him, Robin grabbed him and lifted him up in the air. "Of course you are."

Giggling, Roland kicked his arms wildly and after kissing his forehead, Robin finally put him back to the floor. Then, as soon as his feet were on the ground he ran towards her.

"I have a bucket." He said proudly while showing the plastic toy to her.

Forced back to reality, she smiled to the boy. "So I see, what is it for?"

"For rocks. I'm going to get like four hundredths of them. But just the coolest ones; come I'll show you." Reaching for her hand, he made her stand up and guided her out the door.

"Come on, let's wear this boy out so he can sleep all night long." Robin said while following them.

The lake was within walking distance, actually it was so close that Regina could still see the cabin while sitting over the blanket Robin brought with him so that they could rest on the grass while they watched over Roland.

The boy already made walk all along the shore grabbing rocks and only when he grew bored of it did he let them go and sit while he played in the water.

"This is stunning, Robin." Regina said as she watched over the scenery. It was really a sight to be seen and she wished Henry would be able to see it someday.

"It is, but I would rather watch you."

Rolling her eyes, she scoffed. "Are you always so corny with all your _special_ _friends_?" She asked, her eyes fixed on the way Roland jumped in the water to make it splash.

He laughed, but not letting her comment get to him he lay down on his back. "Only with the hard ones, you know, to smooth them over."

Arching an eyebrow, she looked at him. He was smiling but his eyes were closed. "And does it work?"

"All the time. You wouldn't believe the waiting list I have to bring them here."

"Is that so?" She asked, seeing through the smile still on his face. He was messing with her. "And what spot do I make on that list?"

"Let's just say that I cleared it just for you."

"Well, you'll be able to keep going with the list after the Uber I just called picks me up. You need to polish your skills because they are definitely lame."

Opening his eyes, he frowned. "My skills were not lame last night, I mean doing the Mayor in her office? I definitely surpassed myself."

Moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue, she cleared her throat. Two could play that game and if he wanted to make her jealous he was doing a very poor job. She could easily turn the tables on him. "Sorry to disappoint you, but considering I have my own list to get them in my office after hours, what you did was nothing out of the ordinary."

Sitting up, he faced her.

"Oh yeah? Then you need to tear that list, I claim exclusivity over you from now on."

"So am I your property, do you know how chauvinist that sounds?"

Brushing her off, he kissed her briefly.

"I don't care, you are mine as much as I am yours."

Chuckling and making sure Roland wouldn't look, she pushed his face away. "Are you seriously going to keep up being so corny?"

Grabbing her chin and tilting her face to his, Robin bit down on his lips while burying his fingers into her hair. For a while he just watched her, his eyes shining into hers.

"What?" She asked, her tone maybe a bit on the defensive. But then he smiled and she couldn't help but to smile back at him.

"I'll put up my resignation letter on Monday."

Her smile dying on her lips, she fixed her eyes on his as her mind registered the meaning of what he just said. "Robin, you know I can't let you do that."

"I'm not asking you, I'm letting you know."

Shaking her head, she tore her gaze from his. She knew she shouldn't have gone out with him, she should have known better because now he was hurrying into making life changing decisions. "That's not right and you know it."

"I've made up my mind. It's just a job and it's not like I'll be out in the streets. I have my pension and some money that I've been saving up to start a new enterprise. It's something I've always wanted to do so why don't do it now?"

Still looking away, she ran a hand through her hair. It still felt wrong to her as she didn't think it was fair for him.

Did she want to be with him without having to be sneaking around? Yes, but she didn't want to do it at his expense.

"What if I pulled my name out of the upcoming elections?"

This time it was him the one who shook his head. "No way, you have that election won already so no, I'm the one who won't let you do that."

Lifting her head up to him, she snorted. "So you can give up your job but I can't?"

"It's not the same."

"Yes it is."

"Listen, we can figure out and argue about the logistics of this later, but for now let me try to understand something. That we are actually having this conversation means that you are agreeing to give this a chance? Is that what you are doing?"

Smiling, Regina shrugged. "I don't know, it all depends on how willing you are about throwing away that list that you have."

"Roland, can you cover your eyes for a minute?" Robin called out loud and when the boy did, he kissed her full in the mouth.

Obviously and as was to be expected, Roland giggled out loud as soon as their lips met. "Papa, you are kissing Henry's mom!"

Pulling away, Regina rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose. "Great, now he'll tell Henry and I will never hear the end of this."

Going back into kissing her, this time in her cheek and then on her forehead, Robin chuckled. "Let him know, let everybody know."

Taking in a deep breath, she grabbed his hand. "Well, it's not like I want to hide but I'd rather keep this from leaking through all Storybrooke for now. I've never enjoyed being the hottest gossip in town."

Resting his forehead to hers, Robin nodded. "Okay, we'll do this however you want to do it. No pressures."

Closing her eyes and feeling his breathing against her face, Regina smiled. "Thanks."

"And Regina, you know there's no list, right? There's no one else for me."

Opening her eyes so that she could dig deep into his stare, she swallowed down. "There's no one else for me either. Actually there hasn't been anyone in a very long time."

Sure, after Daniel there has been a couple of men, but nothing she allowed to progress into something serious. Robin was the first one she actually allowed pass her walls, the first one she actually wanted in.

The feeling caught her totally unprepared, but now that it was there she saw no reason to keep running from it. She has done enough of that so maybe it was time to stop and enjoy what life was offering.

"Now that's actually a relief because I was afraid Sidney was somewhere in that waiting list of yours."

Bursting out a laugh, she shook her head. "Sidney? Now that's wrong… in some many levels."

"What, everyone who has ever set foot in your office knows that the man is head over heals over you, he's not even discrete. Maybe I'll have to burst into your office one of these days and kiss you in front of him, that will show him."

"In your dreams, Locksley. That won't happen."

"Well, we'll see about that. But back to what's important, I'm glad half of this got settled before the big news broke out."

As he brushed his knuckles to her cheekbone, she frowned. "What news?"

He shrugged, flashing her way a faint smile. "Can't tell before I'm certain about it. Anyway, are you hungry yet? You barely ate earlier on and it's almost time for lunch."

"Well, I can't say I'm hungry but I wouldn't mind eating now."

"Were you feeling ill earlier on?"

"Not ill, it's just taking a while for my stomach to settle down in the mornings."

"Is that new? Back in the Island you weren't so picky."

"Back in the Island is was either eat or starve. I guess being there kind of messed me up, it's like my body hasn't realize I am back to normal."

"I see… upset stomach in the mornings, new dislike for coffee… If I didn't know any better I would say that you are pregnant."

"Don't be silly, I told you I can't… you know, get pregnant." But as she said that, she suddenly realized that ever since getting back from the Island, she has been missing her period. She couldn't tell for how long since she had kept that information in the phone that she lost in the crash.

Not like that meant anything, because like she said, it wasn't like she could carry anymore.

"I remember you saying that you were told that it would be difficult for you to get pregnant, not impossible."

Scoffing, she got up to her feet. "I think you are reaching too far. Anyway, how about I fix something for lunch for a change while you stay here with Roland?"

Through half closed eyes, he stared at her for a second. "I won't complain about that."

"Good." Lowering towards him before kissing him, she swirled around and headed into the cabin, and as she walked she couldn't help but to have her mind racing a thousand miles per second…

Pregnant, it couldn't be, but if her mind wanted to go there it had material to do so… after all she has known her body to be acting up as of late but like she told Robin, she attributed all those changes to the fact that she hadn't settled in time. The stress of everything that went on, the change of diet and all those things were good reasons for her period to me missing.

So no, she wasn't going to freak out. Actually, she decided not to think about it and just enjoy the rest of her trip with Robin.


	20. Chapter 20

Staring at her reflection through her office bathroom's mirror, Regina Mills blinked the liquid storm of her warm brown eyes slowly while the expression on her face remained stoic.

More than stoic she looked apathetic and yes, in a way that was a look she has come to master over the years. She has created a mask that made her look cold and detached and to fulfill her duties as mayor of Storybrooke it has served her well.

You could throw anything at her and she wouldn't even blink her surprise away, she wouldn't even flinch while wearing that mask. But that day, in that particular moment, she wasn't sure if the mask was working.

Sure, like stated before her expression was on point, even blank, but her eyes… as she stared right back at her own self she couldn't tone down the wild look in her eyes.

She has tried, but the more she thought about the whole thing the more she would catch the way her eyes seemed to scream everything that was bottled inside of her.

It was all just… insane.

Taking in a deep breath, she decided that what she was doing wasn't helping in anything and until she could figure it all out what she needed to do was focus on something else, like the tons of paper work that still lay untouched over her desk.

But the truth was that she couldn't will her legs to move from that spot. It was like she was glued there and in some strange kind of way her subconscious was sure that she wasn't going to move until she acknowledged what was happening.

Thing that she wasn't sure if she could do.

That was probably the reason why she has been standing there for several minutes now, just observing her reflection and letting her mind run wild while the water running freely from the faucet broke the sepulchral silence that has been taking over all around her.

"_If I didn't know any better I would say that you are pregnant."_

Letting her eyes take on her uncommon pale complexion, the words echoed inside her head. Those had been Robin's words a couple of days ago. At the time he said that she didn't dwell so much on it because she knew that wasn't her case. She brushed him off and kept enjoying the short escapade and that she did very well.

But now that she was back to her reality and now after what happened, she couldn't help but to wonder if being pregnant was possible for her.

The symptoms were all there after all; she was late, very late, she felt unusually tired all the time and even though she wasn't eating that much she felt a little bloated. Then it was the barely noticeable fact that her breast felt fuller, her hips were packing and of course, how she couldn't stand the smell of coffee. Not to mention the new development that morning.

She got sick.

It has been her fault though for trying to force down her throat a cup of coffee when she wasn't really wanting it so it probably meant nothing; maybe her stomach was just a bit upset or maybe her mind was playing tricks on her. Yes, it could very well be the last one because she had to be honest with herself, the power of suggestion was something real and maybe after Robin implanted the seed in her mind, all her brain had to do was take it and let her imagination run with it.

That was what she wanted to believe, how she needed things to be. But at the same time, deep inside she knew that the way she got sick just by smelling the coffee Belle got for her and then taking one sip wasn't just a thing her mind just created.

The reaction was too violent and the aftermatch too real for it to be made up. She knew because she just spent at least ten minutes of her morning emptying all the contents of her stomach in the toilet and now that she was done she still felt shaky and somehow nauseated.

"No, you know that can't happen." She said to herself out loud because it really couldn't happen.

That she couldn't have children after the accident was something she has come to accept long ago and in a way she has been okay with it. After all she had Henry and well, it wasn't like she has been invested in a committed relationship where the desire of having another child could wake up.

That was of course until Robin touched the subject and now that it was there, scratching the surface she didn't know if it was a real thing or like she said, her mind playing tricks on her.

After the past few days she could understand how that desire could wake up in her subconscious. The time she spent with Robin opened her eyes to a world full of possibilities, a world she has been turning her back to for the longest time and now that it was all at her reach she wanted to grab it.

Of course, being with child was too much too soon and probably far from how things were supposed to go. It could simplify the dilemma of who needed to quit though, because being pregnant with her auditor's baby was definitely a career killer and she would have to resign immediately.

In all honesty, that wasn't how she wanted to step down from office.

So far she had a impeccable run and she would like it to stay that way. That was why she was almost sure that she was the one who needed to quit. The nominations for the next election were about to close just next Friday and it would only be a matter of pulling her name from the candidates.

Then it was all a matter of staying low key and just exploring whatever it was that was flowering between her and Robin.

Thinking about the man, she broke from her trance and reached for her phone. He sent her a text first thing in the morning and she couldn't lie, she has been itching to call him back just to hear his voice.

She didn't, of course. She just recently came back from a full weekend with him and she didn't want to come off as too clingy, besides, she has been sure that she was going to see him at the office and that could satiate the need she had for him, just see him.

But she hadn't seen him though, and now that her mind was spiraling out of control with the almost impossible notion that she could be pregnant, she felt like she needed to talk to him.

Swallowing on dry and hoping she wouldn't be hit with another wave of nausea, she searched for his contact and pressed the screen to call him.

He answered on the second ring.

"Missing me already?"

She smiled as soon as she heard him, but then after clearing her throat and closing her eyes for a second she blurted it all out. "I can't be pregnant. It doesn't even make sense."

She heard him chuckle at the other side and she blew out a breath. She didn't get why he was taking the subject so lightly.

"How can it be impossible? I mean, it's not like we were being careful."

"It's impossible because I can't… get pregnant."

Her jaw clenched, she knew they were not being careful, hell, she was very well aware that she has been the one who encouraged him to 'not be careful', but like she told him, that was because she has been a hundred percent sure that getting pregnant wasn't even a possibility.

If there would have been even the slightest doubt in her mind she would have make sure not to let him finish inside of her, but instead of that she has been to deep into the moment that she even came to like that intimate connection to end like that.

"It's all my fault." She added, running a hand through her hair.

"Alright. Spit it out, what's happening that this has you all worried now?"

Snorting in the least amused manner she could come up with, Regina shook her head. "I just… I'm either suffering from an upset stomach or I got hit with a nasty case of morning sickness."

"I see."

Turning off the faucet, she searched for her lipstick to add a bit of color to her pale complexion. "Are you at the office?"

"Unfortunately no. If I were trust me, I would be right there with you."

Frowning because it was Monday and that she could recall he was sharp when it came to his office hours, she wondered what happened. "Where are you, is everything alright?"

"It is now. I'm out of town…" He said and the tone of his voice made her head tilt up. "I was taking care of some things. Do you remember how I told you I was going to resign today?"

Gasping in disbelief, Regina quirked her lips. "Robin, we said that we were going to talk about it first."

"I'm pretty sure I told you my mind was made up and Regina, let's be real, if you are pregnant this is for the best."

"No, if I am pregnant this is the worse we could do. I am the one who needs to step down from office and you know it."

"Well, it is done. I resigned from the position immediately so as from this moment we don't have to hide."

Shutting her eyes tight, the brunette woman didn't know what to say without coming off as too condescending so she said nothing. All she could think was how he just complicated everything.

If she was indeed pregnant, thing that she hoped she wasn't, she wouldn't be able to hide it for too long and it would be easy for the entire town to put one and one together and come up with the conclusion of what happened.

As Mayor, that was something she couldn't afford. That's why she needed to be the one resigning. But now he screwed that one and they were both going to be out of a job when it could have worked differently.

She didn't want to be mad but she was, she couldn't help it. Even when she knew he had a plan and that it wasn't like she was going to be missing the job of a lifetime. Being Mayor wasn't as lucrative as some people assumed and well, with her PhD she could work something less demanding and time consuming…

"You still there?" He asked when silence took over them.

Sighing and trying to keep her discomfort away, she replied. "I think we better talk about this later, I… I have work to do."

"Regina, don't be shutting me out now."

With a roll of her eyes, she straightened her posture. "I'm not shutting you out, I just need to process all of this and I do have a lot of work to do. We'll talk later okay?"

"I'll tell you what, I still have another errand to run out here but I'll be back in town a little pass three, so clear your schedule. If you are worried about the possibility of being pregnant we'll go and get a test or something and put it all out in the open."

"Okay." She said, her tone a little less than friendly.

"You do know the results, whatever they are won't change anything about how I feel right?"

At his words she groaned. "Robin, in your never-ending merry man demeanor you'll probably won't understand this, but I want to stay mad at you a little longer so keep the sweet talk for later."

As what to be expected he laughed and if anything, it made her feel a bit more cranky. "Okay then, I'll save it for later. Can we get together for dinner with the boys?"

Rolling her eyes because she didn't feel as annoyed as she wanted to, she pushed the inside of her cheek with her tongue. "Your house, my mother is still in mine." And then after saying that she hung up on him.

Now, was that nice from her part? Not at all, but knowing herself better than anyone she knew it could have been a lot worse.

He was lucky she has become such a sucker for him and even when she didn't want to admit it, part of her felt as giddy as a school girl over the fact that he just gave up something as important as his job for her, just for her.

It annoyed her too because that was a decision they should have taken together, but still…

With all that in mind she finished fixing herself and once she was looking more apt to face the world she stepped out and made it to her office.

Once in there, the first thing she noticed was Belle. She was pacing back and forth while chewing on her nails and by the look on her face Regina could tell something was bothering her.

"Madame Mayor." The younger woman said as soon as she noticed Regina. "I… I have something to tell you but I'm afraid you won't like it."

Arching an eyebrow in curiosity, Regina sat on her desk and placed both hands over the smooth surface of it. "What is it?"

Belle took in a deep breath and then she blew it out. "I have a friend and… he works at the newspaper and… well, he sometimes tells me what's going to be published, if he thinks its important and… he called me today."

Keeping her eyes on her secretary she waited not so patiently. It showed in her face, she guessed, because Belle bit on her lips and handed her a paper instead of telling her.

"Here, I think it's better if you see it."

Grabbing the paper and taking a look at it, Regina noticed immediately that she was looking at the front page of the following day newspaper. And not only that, she also noticed that on it there was a big sized picture of herself and Robin.

It wasn't something that would raise suspicion about their relationship because they were not even touching, but in the picture it could clearly be seen how they were talking in a more than amicable way. She was smiling while facing him, her chin even leaning a bit in his direction and he was smiling right back at her.

The picture on itself was nothing, but the headline made her feel all nauseous all over again and she could feel all the blood draining from her face.

_ **Romance in the City Hall?** _

"What is this?" She asked through clenched teeth while her eyes kept studying the picture.

She could easily recognize when it was taken because it has been as recently as the day before, just when Robin dropped her off in front of her house.

He has gotten out of his car to take her things out of the trunk and that has been it. They didn't touch, they didn't kiss and after a few words he left.

"It was sent to the newspaper earlier today and they are going to put it front page with a full article."

Scoffing, she looked up at Belle. "What's the article about?"

Belle cringed. "They are going to imply that there is something going on between you and Robin. Of course, there is no proof other than this photo and that doesn't even say anything, but with the time you two spent stranded they are definitely aiming to make people wonder about it."

Biting down on her lips, Regina looked down at the picture again. She should have seen something like that coming. She was up for election after all and her opponent wasn't one to play clean.

A few years back he even made the newspaper publish a little too elaborated and intricate story about how a young version of herself, who happened to be engaged to one of the town's most wealthiest men disappeared out of his reach for almost a year and came back with a newborn and very much unwed.

It has been the talk for days and because she refused to address it, her mother has gone ahead and counter published an article about how a young Regina has adopted a poor orphan boy who otherwise would have ended up all alone in the world.

It has made Regina furious because Henry was something she didn't want out in the public eye and her mother knew it.

But this… this article had the potential of messing everything up because she was indeed having a somewhat secret affair with her auditor.

"Was this Gold again?" She asked, feeling already defeated. It was the last straw and definitely the ultimate indicator that her name wasn't going to come up for the upcoming election.

She had mixed feelings about it , a part of her was mad about how she lost control of the situation and another part felt at peace to know she wouldn't have to worry now about what to do.

It wasn't going to end up like she wanted it and the part about being the hottest gossip was going to be inevitable, but it was what it was.

"I'm afraid this one wasn't Mr. Gold."

Humming and wondering who was it then, Regina studied the picture a bit more. It seemed like whoever took it has been waiting for her to show up and judging by the angle, she could tell they had been very close, thing that was strange because she has seen no one out when she arrived home.

Unless…

Squinting her eyes and having the sensation of be reliving her past all over again but with another scenario and protagonist, Regina shook her head no. "Belle, who sent the picture?"

No, she didn't want to believe it because that would be like a new blow. But it was the only possible explanation.

"Madame Mayor." Belle responded, her features distorting. "I don't think it's my place to-"

"Who sent the picture?" She asked, her tone more severe than before.

It made Belle look up to the ceiling and scratch impulsively up her arms. "It was… it was your mother."


	21. Chapter 21

If there was a thing Regina has learnt through the years, it was that it was harder to drown when you had your chin up.

Ever since realizing this, the current Mayor of Storybrooke has decided to keep that statement close to her heart and that was why she refused to walk into any kind of situation if it wasn't with her head held up high; because she would rather hurt her neck for straining it to high than allowing herself to drown in the adversity that seemed to be always following her around.

Call it pride or call it self-preservation, she didn't even really care what it was; the only thing that she knew was that she would give no one the satisfaction of ever seeing her drown.

Especially, if that someone was the one person in the entire world who seemed to be constantly putting all kinds of obstacles in her way to see her fall.

Her mother.

So yes, after falling way too many times in life, this strategy seemed adequate to use against the older woman and despite being very aware of the things she has done or otherwise provoked to keep her face in the mud, Regina always held her head way too high while in her presence.

She did it when she had to come back to town after the accident with Henry just a newborn and she did it when her mother's failed attempt to marry her to a much older man ended up a failure and people started to talk and speculate.

She never bowed her head down when she was menaced to be disowned after she refused to live in the family's house and instead went to live in Daniel's and her chin was up every single time the older woman would tell her that everything that happened she has bought it to herself.

It was hard, no one would know how hard… but despite everything life has thrown at her, regardless of how destiny bent her and changed her into a person she never thought she would become, nothing has ever managed to break down the walls she has built all around her. Not since Daniel…

And at least not until now that her mother came to strike once again.

She didn't even know how to explain how she felt about it, but what her mother did this time took her completely unaware and she wasn't sure about how to react. She was angry, she was upset, confused and above anything, she felt tired of always ending in the same predicament when it came to her progenitor.

"You are going to wear out the titles if you keep pacing."

Stopping on her tracks and taking in a deep breath that was supposed to calm down the turmoil of emotions raging inside of her, Regina clenched her jaw tight as she sent a sideways glance towards the source of that voice.

He was sitting in one of the counter's stools on her kitchen and even though he was straight up looking at her, she couldn't quite read the expression on his face. Realizing that made her completely turn to him to see if she could catch a hint of what he was thinking.

Robin… he looked more serious than his usual self but there was no trace of anger in his eyes; he actually looked kind of sympathetic and she didn't understand why it was that he wasn't affected by what was going on.

After all he had all the motives in the world be angry about her mother using him for whatever master plan she was running in her head. If it hadn't been because he resigned that morning it was his job that was on the line as well, it could have been his son's future and the bread on his table.

"I'm really sorry you got caught up in this. I… I really don't get why she would do this. I mean it doesn't even make sense."

Taking in a deep breath, Robin shrugged. "Are you even sure it was her who sent it?"

Chuckling in the least amused manner ever, Regina placed a hand to her forehead. "Well it's not like I'm certain, I just have Belle's word for it. But Robin-" She began to say as she took a few steps closer towards him. "This is the kind of thing my mother would do. I don't know why would she want to do it but… this, this is so her."

Letting the hand drop to her side, Regina swallowed on dry and settled her eyes on Robin's.

"Want to know what really irks me about this? That I let my guard down and allowed her do this. I let her stay here in my house because I thought that somehow she had a change of heart after I came back from the plane crash but no, as it turns out she was just waiting for the right moment to backstab me again. I'm so, so stupid."

"You are not stupid, she's your mother so of course you were not expecting this."

"But I should have, because I know how she is."

Now, because she knew how her mother was, Regina couldn't say that she was completely surprised, but there was a thing she still quite didn't get.

Ever since Belle told her what was going on, she has been trying to find a motive for the whole thing but she just couldn't. Her mother was pretty much obsessed about her possible re-election so that she would put out there something that had a huge potential of destroying her chances to be elected once again made no sense.

That was where her confusion dwelled. It definitely had to be something that was going to benefit her, the question was what?

"You probably don't understand it, but she's always plotting and scheming for new ways to manipulate me into whatever she wants from me and I'm… so tired of it."

"Come here." Lifting a hand in her direction, Robin motioned her to get closer. She did, and as soon as he circled her frame with his arms to pull her to him she closed her eyes and hid her face into the crook of his neck.

Breathing into his scent she found a deep sense of comfort and even though she was used to dealing with her issues on her own, she was glad that he was there listening to her rants.

He has come as soon as he arrived back into town and ever since crossing through the door he has basically found her a mess. She knew she was rambling and pacing and going through everything over and over in her head and all for nothing because she felt as lost as she felt the moment Belle told her; so that he was still there even though he was now seeing the full picture of how messed up her life really was meant a lot.

"I don't know why this is bothering me so much."

Now, for the good part of the last couple of hours, she has been thinking about what happened and after analyzing it she came up with the same conclusion, that it was ridiculous and even stupid for her to feel so down and beat up after the new betrayal; after all this was her mother's modus operandi and if anything, she should be shocked that it took her so long to come up with it.

One way or another, she would do everything in her power to manipulate her into whatever it was that she wanted, even if that meant ruining her life.

"I think it's natural that this bothers you, you are human after all and even though you like everyone to think your skin is thicker that what it is, you can only bear so much. But regardless of that, you want to know what I really, really think?"

Scoffing, she wrapped her arms around him. "That my life is a damn mess and that it was a mistake to get with me?"

Using the hold he had on her, he made her back up a little so that he could take a look at her face. "I would never think that. If I dealt with you when you were cranky and snarky after the crash, what makes you think I wouldn't want to deal with you now?"

As a response she smiled, but the gesture didn't last long on her lips.

"Actually, what I was thinking is that this…" He grabbed the printed picture that was going to be in the following day newspaper's front page. "This is a bloody good picture of us. It's our first if you come to think about it."

Snarling her lips and sending him and incredulous glance, Regina blinked slowly. "Are you serious?"

"The more I look at it the more I like it. I mean look at your face, it's the same expression you used to send my way back in those first days on the Island; you know, when you though I wasn't looking. You were totally smitten with me and this pictures shows me that you still are."

Despite everything that was going on, what he just said made Regina burst out a laugh. "You wish. I did not look at you in any way that wasn't annoyed, especially on those first days."

"Of course you did. Yes, it may be true that most of the time you sent me dirty looks but I saw how you would stare at me longingly as well."

Rolling her eyes, Regina pursed her lips. "You are being delusional. If anything it was the other way around, you looked at me like you wanted get into my skin. It was quite uncomfortable you know."

Tilting his head to the side and lowering his hands so that he could place them to her lower back, Robin bit into his lips. "You didn't look uncomfortable snuggling up to me every night."

Shrugging and refusing to admit that she has enjoyed those initial nights more than what she should have, Regina clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. "The nights there were too cold and you helped with that. It's not my fault if that mind of yours wanted to see more than that."

Snorting, Robin shook his head. "Oh but it was more than just in my mind and that we are here right now just proves it. But if you want to pin the whole thing just on me then alright, I know what I know."

Taking in a deep breath, Regina rested the palm of her hands to his chest. The last exchange between them has been lighthearted and she has gone with it, but now she casted her eyes down and chewed impulsively at her lips.

"In some bizarre kind of way it was easier in the Island. There was no drama and not a single thing to think about other than what was going on. That's why I wanted to let this thing between us die there, because I knew something like this was going to end up happening. I was right, you should've listened to me and just stay away."

Grabbing for her face and making her look at him, Robin scoffed.

"Regina, I'm going to tell you this just this once so listen to me very carefully. It can be a tad long but bear with me, okay?"

Nodding, she sucked in a breath.

"It's no secret that ever since I first saw you, I felt drawn to you. I've told you this before and I'll say it again, I was attracted, even curious but you know, you were not exactly the easiest person to get to know and well, because of that and because the obvious work thing I never even nursed the idea of approaching you in any way that wasn't professional."

He took a moment to move his hand to the back of her head, his fingers buried into her hair while Regina just listened.

"Then when our plane crashed I wasn't even thinking about trying anything with you once it all downed on me; I was just focused on keeping us alive. That I would check you out and maybe snuggle a bit closer? Of course I did, but never with the intention of it going further. But time went on and the more I saw of you the more my mind would wander and yes, I won't deny it, I wanted you. I think we've come a long way since then and we've gone through so much that I still don't understand why is it that you think I'm going to let a silly picture ruin this. I don't regret a thing of what happened between us, not here and not in the island so it's about time you get into that pretty head of yours that I'm going to be here for the long run no matter what."

"It's not just a silly picture, Robin. It's my career, yours, my messed up relationship with my mother and the fact that because of her I'm just… I'm as messed up as she wants me to be."

"You are not messed up, you are one of the strongest woman I know, if not the most. I thought so before all of this started and now that I got to know you better I'm sure of it. Not everyone would have come out stronger after the things you went through and look at where you are. That is something no one can take away from you."

Dragging her hand towards his cheek, she leaned forward and kissed him, letting her lips linger against his for several seconds before pulling away.

"As for the picture? Screw it. We can turn this around, I'm not your auditor anymore so instead of letting this be tomorrow's story of the day let's make it today's surprise sighting so how about we go together and pick up the boys from school and then take it from there? Let's blow the novelty of us being together be a thing come tomorrow."

Humming and sliding her hands to his shoulders, Regina snorted. "Well that sounds like a plan that would definitely make my mother auto combust in anger, but I think it's better if I cool off first and analyze what is it that I want to do when it comes to her and everything that came up with her little feat."

"I thought you wanted to confront her as soon as she arrived."

"I did." She still wanted that, of that there was no doubt. "But I don't think I'm mentally prepared for it right now; I'm drained as it is and having a one on one with her will just make me go at her full force and I don't want that. Instead I just want to go back to the office and finish with a few things to help clear my mind a little bit."

Yes, she was too emotional about the whole thing in that moment and if she confronted Cora she was going to end up showing weakness and that she wasn't going to let happen.

"I'm going to ask you for a raincheck for tonight's dinner too, I just don't feel like I'll be the best company."

"Oh…"

"I just want to think all of this through."

"Well then, whatever it is that you decide to do just know that you can count on me, you know that, right?"

Her lips curved into a smile. "I know. I just need time to process all of this."

"I just don't want you to forget that. I know that there's a lot going on in your mind and I understand, I really do; but at the same time I know I have to be patient I feel that you push and pull at me at the same time and I just don't want you for you to all of a sudden decide that you just want to push."

"I'm not pushing… I have never in my life pushed less than now with you. Now I know I'm not very good when it comes to this kind of thing but hey, the last serious relationship I had was more than a decade ago and that one left me so scarred that I sometimes can't help but to hesitate; but I do want this. I just… I just need to go through this in my own time."

"Well, I'll take the raincheck then, but I won't let you go into seclusion in that office of yours so if I know you are still there by nightfall I will go there and make you come out."

Nodding and getting lost in the depths of his stare, Regina wondered if there was really a thing to think when it came to the man. She knew where she stood when it came to him and she knew what she wanted, so there shouldn't be a problem in that regard, but at the same time she wanted to take things step by step because she didn't want to jinx it.

She was so used to things turning for the worse and she didn't want Robin to be yet another one of those things just because she rushed it.

Sure, he was probably right about letting people see them because that would make the newspaper come off as an old story and that could ruin her mother's plans, whatever they were, but just in case she wanted to think it through before acting.

"With that settled there's only one thing pending between us." As he said that he grabbed her chin and made her look towards the countertop.

It took her a couple of seconds to actually see it but when she did she groaned. "Robin-" With everything that went on she just forgot about it, but as she saw the little box just resting there she did find it to be unnecessary.

Yes in a moment when her mind wasn't in the right place she agreed to it, but now that it was there she didn't think it was what she needed at the moment.

"I'm telling you right now what the results will be. Negative. I am not pregnant."

Taking the box in his hands, he shrugged. "If you are so sure then why so scared of it?"

"Tsk, I'm not afraid, give me that." Taking the box out of his hands she opened it and started reading the instructions.

It was extremely easy to use so she went with it to the bathroom and dealt with it. It was the only way to make him desist on the idea that she could be pregnant and even when she wouldn't admit it, it was going to give her a little bit of peace of mind to see the negative result.

Once done with it she let the test over the sink, washed her hands and went out to met Robin.

"So?"

"So it says we need to wait a few minutes."

Humming, he reached for her and pulled her close enough so that he could kiss her. He did it slow and deep and by the time he pulled away she felt like she needed more.

It was just a kiss, yes, but as his lips claimed hers and his tongue danced with hers she felt like her mind could finally settle in the right place. Maybe she didn't need to get busy with work, maybe what she needed was just him.

"This is the first time you are actually in my house." She said as a matter of fact while tugging at his lips with her teeth.

"It is." He replied with a smile as he grabbed her hips to pull her even closer.

"And I don't think I've show you my bedroom yet."

"Lead the way then." He kissed her again, this time adding even more pressure and impetus. It left her breathless so it was her the one who broke the contact this time.

Grabbing his hand she made as if to lead him upstairs, but when he pulled at her hand and pointed at the bathroom instead she quirked her lips. "I think we have business in there first."

"Are you serious?"

Nodding and refusing to let go of her hand, he guided her into the small room. It was her half bathroom so it wasn't like there was so much space for the two of them. He looked first, the expression on his face never changing.

"Well look at that, can't say I'm surprised."

Frowning, she took a look as well and when she did she almost did a double take. "What-" She began to ask while grabbing the test so that she could take a better look. "I think this one is broken."

Snorting and wrapping his arms around her, he kissed the top of her head and then her forehead. He also went to kiss her lips but she was too busy staring at the test to respond in kind.

"It's not broken, it clearly says you are pregnant."

Blowing out a breath and searching for his eyes, she shook her head. "But it can't… I don't get it." And she didn't, she was confused and the sound of her heart beating so hard into her chest wasn't letting her concentrate either.

As she tried for everything to make sense, he grabbed her face and kissed her. It wasn't like the previous one, this one was more tender than passionate and in the middle of it she couldn't decide what to make of the whole thing.

The only consistent thought swirling inside her mind was that no, apparently what happened in the Island didn't necessarily stay in the Island…


	22. Chapter 22

"Hey, are you alright?"

Blinking her eyes open and tucking her hand underneath one of the soft pillows on her bed, Regina breathed in deeply as she chewed compulsively on her bottom lip.

No, she was not alright. Well… she didn't exactly know how she was feeling; in her mind all of what was happening came so suddenly and unannounced that she wasn't exactly sure what to think or how to feel about it.

It was like this, after seeing the results on that pregnancy test her mind has been a huge mess trying to grasp the real meaning of it all and quite honestly she didn't think she was anywhere near done thinking.

Right after the results were known, she has been shocked so she didn't try to reason with reality too deep, then Robin kissed her and she kissed him and instead of thinking she focused on feeling so no, there has been not much to dwell about then either. But now in the blissful aftermatch of her lovemaking with Robin she just rolled over and did nothing else but to think.

All of it was confusing, she was being invaded with the how did it happen and the when and the what was she going to do now and the more she thought about it the more lost she would feel.

"Regina."

Apparently needing a response, Robin tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer to him and thus making her back mold perfectly against his solid frame. Once he had her where he wanted her, he pressed his lips to a spot in her throat, right where her pulse was beating softly against her flesh.

She allowed him do that, closing her eyes once again and saying nothing.

Moving his lips to her jaw and then up to her cheek, Robin moved from his place behind her and using the hand he had on her hip, he made her roll to her back while he hovered by her side.

"Regina, look at me."

Opening her eyes and finding his blue ones staring deeply into her own, she wrinkled her nose. She didn't really feel like talking, but she knew how she was when it came to him and if he wanted her to talk then she would end up talking.

He had the uncanny ability of making her yield to him over and over again. He probably didn't even know it, but not only did he had that power over her but he also made her feel completely unhinged, like he could break her apart in an instant and then in another put her back together, piece by piece until she was at least whole.

Just look at what happened in that bed just minutes ago, while she was supposed to be analyzing the implications of everything that was unfolding in her life she just allowed him to carry her away into the moment. Instead of trying to figure out what to do she just gave into him, letting him thrust into the soft yielding sweetness of her while she clung to him and received everything he had to give.

It was insane, but that power he had over her was the reason why she ended up in the predicament she was in now, pregnant with his child. Because she was weak for him…

"Alright, tell me what's in your mind."

Scoffing, Regina looked away from him. She didn't feel like succumbing into his charms once again and if she looked into those eyes she would end up in the palm of his hand once more.

"You mean other than the fact that I'm apparently pregnant with my auditor's child and that my mother is trying to sabotage my life once again?"

"Former auditor." Licking his lips, Robin replied.

"That doesn't make any difference, Robin. This is… I don't even know what to think. This was just not supposed to happen. What are we going to do now?"

Grabbing her chin and making her face him, Robin frowned. "What do you mean with what we will do? Is there anything to think about other than just having this baby?"

Blinking slowly and realizing they were probably not in the same page, she shook her head. "Of course not, what I mean is… I have to… I can't run as Mayor like this and there are a lot of other factors to think about that go deeper than just having this baby."

Like what if something happened to this baby too? After all that she couldn't get pregnant and then did could be a risk to the well being of the creature and that was something to think about.

"Alright, first of all I quit as your auditor so you could keep being Mayor so I don't see how this changes things, and second-"

"Maybe you shouldn't have quit, I told you to wait." She said in a cutting tone before he could even finish. "Now we will both be unemployed and with a baby on the way."

Exhaling and letting go of her, Robin rested his back to the mattress and pursed his lips. He said nothing more and just limited himself to stare at the ceiling.

He didn't look too pleased and at the sight of him like that she closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands.

She didn't want to be at odds with him but she was lost, she felt confused and for some reason that made her be on the defensive. Maybe she was still in shock.

But like stated before, the last thing she wanted or needed in that moment was for him to be upset with her so with that in mind, she tried to make him see that even though her tone was far from pleasant, it wasn't because she was annoyed with him.

So clearing her throat, she rolled against him and without saying a word she lay her head on his chest, her ear immediately looking for the sound of his heart beating inside of him.

It was addicting to hear the rhythm, even soothing and as she closed her eyes he wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer.

He was mad even though he embraced her, she knew it, but it was as if she had the same power over him of making him yield to her and despite everything that was going on she smiled, her skin enjoying the warmness of his flesh against hers.

"You're acting as if all of this is a bad thing." He said at last, his breath caressing her forehead.

"I'm not saying it's bad, but it isn't that simple either." Pulling away from him so that she could look into his eyes, she sucked in a breath. "Look, you probably don't get this, but for me talking about feelings is not the easiest thing in the world and this… it terrifies me, I don't even know how to explain it but it's easier for me to think about all the things that can go wrong instead of you know, accepting it."

His hand went to the back of her head, his fingers burying into her hair. "Nothing will go wrong, I won't let it. Now I know you are a pessimist at heart but you need to start understanding that good things can happen to you too and this, this is a good thing, Regina."

"I know that, but if you've lived through the things I did you would also understand that wherever there a good things happening bad things always follow and I don't think I can go through another round of destiny messing with me. I was pregnant once, and my baby died along with his father and the situation that provoked that was so similar to what my mother is doing now that I can't help but to worry."

With his thumb caressing her cheek, Robin smiled reassuringly. "You won't have to go through that again."

"You don't know that." Regina breathed out, her eyes refusing to leave his.

"Actually I do, the same way I knew we were going to make it out of a sinking plane in the middle of the ocean, or that we were going to get out of that Island and even that we were going to be alright sailing off with a bunch of shady looking… pirates or whatever. See, I know these kind of things so you just need to take what I say for granted."

Unable to help it, her lips curved into a smile and she had no choice than to roll her eyes. "That was pure luck."

Blowing out a breath, he allowed his eyes to drink on the details of her face. "I don't think I'll ever be able to get tired of seeing you smile."

Before she could even reply, he kissed her briefly.

"As for being worried, there's no reason for that, everything will be perfectly fine."

Scoffing, Regina placed her hand to his shoulder. "I wish I had more of your positive mental attitude. Would save me from a lot of overthinking."

Pushing off the mattress, he made her lay on her back, once she was where he wanted her he lowered himself until he could place a kiss on her stomach. "It will rub on you, you'll see. I think this little one will make you see things differently."

Biting her lips and running the pad of her fingers through his silky hair, Regina smiled. The stubble on his face against her flesh tickled and as he placed another kiss near her ribcage and then another one just underneath her navel she snorted.

"This is all so surreal. I don't even think it has all downed on me." She didn't even think she has yet come to fully believing it and one of the first things she needed to do was arrange an appointment with her doctor as soon as possible.

Sure, the signs were there alright and the pregnancy test was more than a confirmation, but before fully believing it she needed to check that everything was alright first.

Maybe it was her way of trying to shield herself against a disappointment, but she just didn't want to get all excited about having a baby before confirming that everything was how it was supposed to be.

"How do you think Henry will react?" Robin asked and at the question she hummed.

"Shocked? I've never brought someone home before so I can't even imagine how this is going to impact him. He does like you though so I hope it doesn't shake him too much."

"He's a great kid."

"He is, and if we stay in this bed too long he is going to come back home from school and find us here and because I don't want to traumatize him I think we better get going."

Placing one last kiss on her stomach, Robin straightened up and took a look at his watch. "Yes, I want to get Roland from school today so I better move along before it gets too late. How about you, will you go back to the office?"

Twisting her lips, Regina shook her head no. "I don't think so." With that said she got to her feet and started looking around for her phone, after a while she remembered that she left it on the kitchen and decided to go and look for it.

She needed to make her appointment for the doctor sooner rather than later and she wanted to see if she was lucky enough to get one as soon as the following day.

"Tell you what," She said while putting on a bathrobe. "Why don't you freshen up while I go downstairs for a second. Then before you go we can talk about that dinner you promised."

Humming, he walked to her and kissed her. "Sounds perfect."

Letting her hands slide up his sides, she bit her lips. "Bathroom is that way."

Once he grabbed his clothes and disappeared into her bathroom, Regina hurried downstairs to take her phone. She did it absentmindedly, her brain going over the same thing over and over again.

She was pregnant.

Chuckling at the absurdity of it all, her hand automatically went to rest over her stomach. It didn't feel any different than all the previous times she has touched the spot, but now, knowing that there was something growing there made her feel something inside of her that she hasn't felt in many years.

It was definitely something she never thought that would happen to her again and more than anything in the world she hoped Robin was right and that everything was going to be just fine.

She deserved being happy too and Robin and this baby could be the factor that she needed to be there…

But because life had a funny way of reminding her what her place was, as soon as she walked into the kitchen she saw her mother and the smile immediately died on her lips.

"Regina, darling, what are you doing here so early, are you ill?"

Now, as if nothing was amiss in the world, Cora sent her a sideway glance and continued doing what she has been doing, which was rummaging through her fridge.

"You do look quite ghastly."

Blinking slowly and debating what she should do, if act as if nothing happened or just lash out at what the woman did, she bit on her lips.

The choice was easy if she wanted to beat her mother at her own game and she knew she should act normal and then surprised her with something she wasn't expecting, but at the same time the woman's presence was enough to make her blood boil as it ran through her veins and in a way she saw what was going to happen before she could even open her mouth.

It was inevitable, but she did try to tone down her acrid mood and at least act composed.

"Perhaps this is the way one looks after realizing your mother just stabbed you in the back once again."

Arching an eyebrow, Cora swirled on her heels and sent her a surprised smile. "Are you going to start with your dramas again, what did I supposedly do now? Did I look at Henry the wrong way again?"

Snarling her lips, Regina reached for the picture she and Robin had left in the counter, the same one the older woman hadn't noticed yet. Once in her hand she showed it to her mother.

"Oh, that. On my defense I tried to send the best picture of you, you do realize that you are putting some weight dear and it's starting to show?"

"You are not even going to deny it was you?" Regina snorted, not quite believing the nerve of her mother.

Cora just shrugged.

"Why?" It was the only thing she could ask as it was the only thing she needed to know.

Sighing a little bit too dramatically, Cora smiled. "Isn't it obvious? The elections are coming soon and you were about to ruin your chance of another run by parading around town with that man. You clearly lost it and the only way that came to mind was to make you see everything that you could loose if your little fling was known. Now you don't have to worry, the article doesn't say much and I already have another one dismissing any kind of relationship with him. It will be something about you surviving the crash, voters love that story so it will get you points."

"You can't be serious."

"I am, Regina, did you really think I was going to let you ruin our family's name over that man. He's just a government employee and way beneath you."

Opening her mouth and then clasping it shut, Regina shook her head and scoffed.

This was the moment she should tell her mother a thing or two, tell her how Robin was more than just a fling and how the only person that ruined things in that family had always been her.

But doing that would be touching a subject that has been touched way too many times before. They had argued about it so many times that she lost count of them, and no matter how wrong she always was, Cora never admitted her fault over the things she has provoked.

Actually, her mother always had a way blaming het for everything and most of her life she had believed her, thing that made her carry the guilt of her baby and Daniel's deaths for many years.

She was tired of it and as bad as it sounded, her mother wasn't worth it.

"You know you could have been just happy for me, you know that, right? Happy that after so many years I finally found someone that made me feel complete."

"Oh dear, you are a brilliant woman, I'll give you that, but even after all these years you still are doomed to chose the wrong man."

Lifting her chin and clenching her jaw, Regina nodded. "Will you have this one killed too?"

Groaning and lifting a hand to make her shut up, Cora shook her head. "I never had anyone killed, you did by being reckless and thinking you could do as you pleased. But if you want me to tell you the truth, I was not upset to see that boy go. He was going to ruin your life and turn you into a housewife and that it didn't happen and you were able to reach your true potential makes me happy."

"So it makes you happy that my unborn child died too?" She fought against the urge of placing a hand protectively to her stomach.

"It was unfortunate, it was the only grandchild I was ever going to have. But it is what it is."

Swallowing on dry, she breathed in. "Go get your things and get out of my house."

Cora did a double take. "Don't be silly, we have a lot of work to do before Friday."

"I won't say it again." She said through clenched teeth while looking at her mother dead in the eye.

For a while they engaged into a stare off contest and it wasn't until Cora dropped her gaze that Regina was able to breathe again. Her heart was beating unmercifully hard into her chest and for some reason her eyed prickled.

"Fine then, you'll need me before you know it, especially if you want to win this election."

"I won't need you."

Not bothering to see her go, she turned around and made it back into her bedroom. By the time she walked in Robin was already dressed, hair damp and his lips curved into a playful dimple smile. It died as soon as he saw her and walking to her he grabbed her face in his hands.

"What's wrong?" He asked in concern.

Blinking rapidly and feeling how he wiped with his thumbs at the few improper tears that shamefully escaped her, Regina shook herself from his touch and placed both her hands on her face to cover it.

She did it to gain a second or two to compose herself. She didn't want to cry over Cora, she couldn't.

"Regina."

He took her hands away and she closed her eyes. Instead of fishing for an answer, Robin wrapped his arms around her and in response she lifted on her tiptoes and circled his neck with her own arms.

She clung to him, feeling at home with him, and when she was sure she was more controlled she said it. "I love you."

She didn't think about it or analyzed it, she just said it.

Snorting and tightening his hold on her, Robin kissed the top of her head. "And knowing that upsets you to the point of crying?"

Unable to hold it, she laughed, using the back of her hand to wipe her face.

"It's not that."

Pulling from the embrace, he faced her. "Then what is it? I mean if you are concerned that your feelings are not reciprocate I'll tell you right now that you don't need to worry, I love you too, actually, I'm quite head over heels for you."

"Well, I knew that already." She rolled her eyes and he laughed, but instead of replying he kissed her.

For several seconds that's all they did and when he finally broke the kiss the rested her forehead to his shoulder.

"What happened?" He asked, his tone tender but more concerned than the one he has been using.

"My mother, I just ran into her. I don't want to talk about it now, maybe later?"

"Alright."

Lifting her face and searching for his eyes, she licked her lips. "Will you wait for me if I take a quick shower. We can go together and pick the boys?" Just like he suggested before.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to make a decision like this just because you are upset and then regret it later."

Kissing his chin, she hummed. "I'm sure."

If she was going to start living the life she wanted, she better start now and with no holding back. She was going to give no one the satisfaction of having to hide and if that would cost her the election then so be it, there were other things in life more important that staying in office and her mother wouldn't ruin this one for her… she wasn't going to let her.


	23. Chapter 23

If there was something to be said about Regina Mills, it was that she was a creature of habit. She thrived in consistency and more than anything she took comfort in knowing what to expect.

It has always been like that for her; venturing into the unknown simply threw her off and destabilized the foundations of everything she held dear so instead of dwelling in uncharted territory she preferred to stay in her comfort zone.

True, most people attributed her quirks to the fact that she was a control freak and maybe they were right, but in her mind she was just someone who liked to be prepared.

That has been at least until two big factors came to change everything as she has known it. It was probably cause and effect but the fact was that since those two circumstances came into the scene the structure of her life, her routine and her plans all crumbled down at her feet as she did nothing but watch everything fall apart.

The first of those factors was of course the plane crash, and in a way she was completely sure that if it hadn't been for that cataclysm, she would be living her life as she has known it to be right in that moment. With everything in place and planned and every possible turn carefully studied.

But no, the crash did happen and even though she survived, everything she has known from her life before the event simply vanished. Being in that Island for so long made her open her eyes to many things, from what should really be in her priority list to how she shouldn't just take things from granted.

Now, the second factor and the one that did more damage was Robin and how he slowly but securely sneaked into the very essence of her being; because if the crash changed the way she saw life, Robin changed who she has been.

He came like a breath of fresh air, swirling all around her until he unknowingly set free a heart she hasn't even realized was imprisoned inside if her. He woke up in her feelings she believed to have withered and died long ago and what was more important, he gave her hope that there was something more than just going round and around in a never-ending circle where work was the base where her life would spin.

True, there was Henry and he has always been her top priority, obviously, but the truth was that she has dedicated so much of her time in office that she even sacrificed what could considered quality time with him and even that Robin came to change.

In a way it was scary how much power she was giving the man, but at the same time she was sure that she was doing things the way they were supposed to be done.

"Hey, you still here with me?"

Taken out of her trance, Regina blinked her eyes a couple of times as she tightened the hold she had on Robin's hand. It was supposed to be a light squeeze that indicated that everything was alright on her end but before she even realized it, she just clutched hard to him.

"Have you realized that everyone is stealing glances at us?" She asked quietly through clenched teeth as they kept walking forward.

Henry and Roland were walking several paces in front of them so she focused on the duo, watching as the younger of the two boys talked excitedly to her son nonstop. Henry was listening and encouraging the boy on, and despite how uncomfortable people staring at them could result, she couldn't help but to curve her lips into half a smile.

Them, Robin and the little creature that was apparently growing in her womb was all that mattered now so that was what she should focus on. Forget what people could say or think, screw her mother and never mind being in office.

"Are they now?" Robin commented in an amused tone while stopping on his tracks.

Lost in her thoughts, Regina kept walking and so did they boys, but because Robin had her hand secured in his he gave a slight pull that made her turn to him.

Arching an eyebrow questioningly, Regina stared at him and even after taking notice of the playful glint on his eye she walked to him when he pulled her in his direction.

"Well if they are then let's give them something really worth of a front page."

With that said, he grabbed her face and then ever so lightly, he leaned forward to capture her lips into a probing kiss.

Regina saw him do it and definitely knew of his intentions way before his mouth even touched hers, but still the contact made her immediately pull her face back.

It was an automatic response, but because his hand had crawled to the back of her head she wasn't able to completely break from him. "Robin." She whispered severely, her tone very similar to the one she used on her son when he has been a little boy that couldn't stay still in a public event. "People are watching. And Henry."

True, her son was sharp and she just knew that he noticed how she arrived with Robin to pick him up from school and how they were now walking hand in hand to get some ice-cream; but she hasn't yet sat down with him so she could tell him about how she was now apparently in an official relationship with the man and she would like to be able to do it before getting too cozy in his presence.

After all, to Henry's eyes this was the first time she ever brought a man home and she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. She didn't think he would be though, not if the huge grin on his lips that lit up his whole face when he saw them was any indication.

"He's not even looking." Robin said, kissing her nose and then chewing on his lips while he reached for her hand once again to keep walking. "He's probably the only one though because you are right, we have quite an audience here."

"Great, just great." She hissed because really, she hated being the center of attention. Unfortunately for her, the residents of Storybrooke were morbidly fascinated with gossip, especially when it involved her so it was no wonder they were paying her special attention in that moment.

"Madame Mayor."

Cringing at the sound of that voice and closing her eyes for one whole second, Regina drew in a deep breath before turning to the woman who just spoke. She tried to force a smile, but she was afraid it came out more like a grimace than anything else.

"Mary Margaret." She said as the woman approached. She was smiling that annoying smile that seemed to be forever permeated on her face and Regina did her best to keep her own features stoic.

"Robin." The other woman's smile got even bigger as she went ahead and hugged the man.

That right there made Regina blink several times as she tried her best not to react with a double take.

But then as soon as the quick hug broke apart Mary Margaret turned to her. "So I know this is rushed and that I should have called you at the office but I was wondering if you could see me tomorrow after school. I have some issues I need to discuss with you."

"Nothing serious, I hope." She said in her mayor tone while feeling very conscious that Robin was still holding her hand, their fingers laced together in a way that left no doubt that they were more than what people thought they were the day before.

"No, not at all just some proposals for your campaign, you know for your plan with education."

"Oh." She said, clearing her throat and then using her free hand to brush her hair behind her ear. "I'm afraid I won't be able to help in that regard because I won't be running for next term."

"What do you mean you won't be running? That's insane." The woman said in apparent shock and even though she was herself shocked about having said that out loud, at the same time she felt a rush of adrenaline running through her spine.

No, she was not going to run and that felt so damn good that she was even finding the dumb expression on Mary Margaret's face oddly funny.

"I mean, wow, I was definitely not expecting that but… um, ok, I guess I'll have to wait and see who will be our next candidate, you know other than Gold."

"Maybe you should run." Robin said randomly and Mary Margaret scoffed.

"Please, David would flip if I even suggest that, you know how he gets. Anyway, I won't take more of your time. It was good seeing you… together, and yup, I'll go now. Oh and feel free to change your mind, we need you as Mayor."

Watching her leave, Regina shook her head. "That was less damaging than what I've been expecting."

"So you really won't be running?"

Looking at him, Regina ran her tongue along the edge of her teeth. "So you and The Charming's are friends, that's…" Not knowing what adjective to say without sounding condescending, she just shrugged and widened her eyes.

"I've been out with David from time to time and she's my boy's teacher." He said as if it was the most natural thing in the world that in just a few months he has befriended half the city.

"She was Henry's teacher too and that didn't mean we hugged every damn time we ran into each other on the street." Now, her tone came out more bitter than what she intended to and the fact that her eyes rolled didn't help her case either.

"Why, Regina." A laugh busted out of Robin. "Are you jealous?"

Scoffing incredulously, Regina snarled her lips. "Please, I don't do jealous. Besides she's awfully vanilla."

"I see." He began to say and as if in cue her phone started to buzz.

Sending a quick glance straight ahead so that she could check Roland and Henry, Regina pursed her lips and then went to check who was calling.

It was her mother and upon seeing her name on her screen she groaned before declining the call.

It was the third time she called ever since she went to pick they boys to school and now she was wondering if perhaps she should answer.

Whatever it was that her mother was planning, it better not take her by surprise. But not wanting to let the woman spoil the rest of her day as well, she put the phone back into her purse and sighed out loud.

"Everything okay?"

Turning fully to him and biting on her lips, Regina nodded. "It is, I'm just trying to get the hang of this whole thing." She smiled as she said that and he lifted a hand to cup her cheek in his palm.

"I want to kiss you so bad right now."

"Hmm I don't know about that, but maybe you'll get to do it later on. That's if you are up for dinner at my house tonight, I will cook for a change and then you can do all the kissing that you want. Maybe more if we manage to sneak from those two."

Humming and using his thumb to tuck a lose strand of her hair behind her ear, Robin smiled. "That sounds promising. You are going to wear me out though."

She laughed, but once again her phone started to ring. She didn't welcome the interruption but reaching for the device so that she could mute it, she noticed that it wasn't her mother.

It was the Sheriff department.

"Sorry, I have to take this." She said with a frown as she answered the call. "Hello."

"Mayor Mills, sorry to interrupt with such bad news but there has been an accident at your house and we need you to come along as soon as you can."

"What? What happened?" She asked, loud enough to make Robin send her a questioning look.

"There has been an apparent act of arsony at your residence. It's under control now but we have an anonymous witness who called and reported seeing someone entering your home with what appeared to be cans of gas."

Closing her eyes and already knowing what she was going to hear, Regina let go of Robin's hand so that she could run her fingers along her scalp.

"Who was it?" She asked even though she knew the answer.

"According to the witness it was Robin Locksley."

Opening her eyes and gasping out loud, she shook her head. "No, that's impossible, Mr. Locksley has been with me ever since I left the house a earlier today."

"What's going on?" Robin asked at the same time that the sheriff went on.

"Then we'll need to get both your statements about that."

"Okay, we'll be there soon." She said before hanging up and closing her eyes once again.

"Regina, what happened?" He asked in concern again.

She didn't answer for a while though, not even when he helped himself to grab once more her face in his hands as he questioned her a third time about what was going on.

And what could she answer to that, that it happened what she knew would happen? That it didn't matter what she did these kind of things would keep going on unless she did something really drastic about it?

And really, she needed to do something, it was something that was long overdue so she guessed the time was now.

"My mother happened, but trust me, this is the last one she will ever pull on me."


	24. Chapter 24

It was funny how silence could hang in the air like a thousand pounds of deadweight; how under the right circumstances the pressure of it could even become suffocating.

That was how Regina was feeling in that moment and as she absentmindedly threw some clothes into her travel bag she wondered how it came to be that some people claimed that silence was a luxury.

Sure, as a rule she valued silence if it meant some peace of mind or that she wouldn't have to suffer through some idle talk, but right in that moment the silence was so loud that she was starting to really hate it and all the implications it carried with it.

"Are you okay?"

Startling a little but quickly taking a hold of herself, Regina blinked her eyes rapidly while turning her face towards the sound of the voice that came to interrupt the sepulchral silence that has been taking over her surroundings, then when she saw that there was someone standing under the doorframe of her bedroom door she forced a smile upon her face and nodded her head.

The gesture was supposed to be an affirmation to the question that has been asked, but the truth was that no, she was not okay. She could feel the beginning of a headache forming right behind her temple and there was an unusual pressure expanding all through her chest; that was without mentioning that the distinct smell of smoke that seemed to have spread and then permeated into every single corner of her house was making her feel kind of lightheaded.

But no, that was something she didn't want to talk about and let alone with the person who asked so instead she sat down over her bed and extended a hand in his direction, a silent invitation for him to walk towards her.

"I'm pretty sure I'm the one who should be asking that. I mean I'm the parent after all."

Flashing her way half a smile, the boy walked to her, then when he was close enough he sat by her side and bumped his shoulder lightly against hers.

That right there was something he would do whenever they would sit together so she smiled, loving than even in the messed up situation she was in she could always count in that camaraderie than came with the relationship between her and her son.

"So." She began to talk, reciprocating the nudge he just gave her with one of her own. "Are you alright?"

"Well this is a little weird." He said with a shrug and Regina reached for his hand to give it a light squeeze. "Is it true that Cora did it?"

Cora… he has never been fond of calling her grandma and how could she blame him when the woman has been nothing but cold and distant to him? She more often than not acted as if he didn't exist and even though that always bothered Regina to no end, part of her was glad that with her mother's indifferent towards the boy, he has been mostly spared of having to deal with her vindictive ways.

"What did I tell you about eavesdropping? You know I don't like it when you do that."

"But I wasn't eavesdropping." He started to complain but then as an afterthought he puffed out a breath. "At least not intentionally anyway."

Humming, Regina arched an eyebrow as she recalled the conversation Henry probably overheard. It has been between the sheriff and herself and yes, in said talk she said she was sure the fire that ended up consuming her entire kitchen and most of the first story of her house has been provoked by her mother.

The suspicions were corroborated by just taking a look at her security cameras so there was that.

The memory of it all was kind of hazy in her mind because she has been so overcome with anger as it happened but she did recall the important points, and she clearly remembered how she ended up asking for a restraining order against her own mother. There was also an arrest order for the woman under the felony of arson so she hoped that was enough to keep the woman away and out of town.

But now, with a clearer head and her emotions somehow tamed, she wished she would have been more discreet about the whole thing, at least for Henry's sake.

"I'll just tell you this, I will never let anything bad happen to you and that's why I put that restraining order. My mother… she's not… you are too young to understand most of the things going on right now so I'll just tell you that she will definitely not be around in our lives anymore."

"That's why you are sad?"

Chewing on her lips, she lifted a hand to his face and brushed his hair away from his forehead. "I'm not sad."

And she wasn't, at least not that she was aware of. Everything was kind of overwhelming and she was definitely feeling a bit off, but the reality was that she couldn't quite put a finger to how was it that she was feeling.

"I'm just thoughtful because there will be a lot of changes from now on. Like I won't be running for Mayor this time." Among other things, of course.

"What? But… why?" Henry almost yelped. He even jumped where he sat so that he could turn sideways, facing her.

"Well, there's a lot going on here that you probably won't understand but I think that me stepping away from office is for the best."

"But mom, how is you not being Mayor for the best? Everybody knows that you do a lot of things that other's won't do. Everyone I know-"

"Henry..." She interrupted in a warning. She didn't have to say more because he knew that tone meant business.

"Okay." Henry said in defeat. "So can I ask you about something else?" His hand was still in hers and this time he was the one who gave a squeeze. Regina nodded, her eyes taking on the appearance of him and suddenly realizing how much he has grown. "What's the deal with Robin?"

Despite the tightness in her chest and the dull sense in her gut about how everything took a turn for the worse all of a sudden, Regina scoffed. It wasn't in amusement though so blinking a couple of times she breathed out and lowered her eyes.

In all honesty, she didn't know what was the deal with Robin anymore. Even though he didn't say it out loud it was obvious that he was angry about the whole thing and quite honestly, she wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to bail out.

Maybe he already did, considering that after his statement with the Sheriff he just left.

Sure, he said it was because he wanted to get Roland away from the scene and he did it with the promise to get back as soon as he could to pick both her and Henry, but the truth was that she still had a bad feeling about how everything was going to happen from now on.

But she couldn't blame him if he left, any sane person would pack and leave because the truth was that she and everything her life was all about was definitely a whole damn mess.

But because that was not the answer Henry was looking for she just shrugged. "Robin is a very special person to me… you know that he is the reason why I was able to come back here with you, right?"

"So is he your boyfriend now?" He asked boldly, no beating around the bushes.

Clearing her throat and wondering how a child who did not share her DNA could be so much like her in certain aspects, she lifted both her eyebrows. "I'll tell you what, you go and finish packing your things and you and I will finish this talk later, how about that?"

"But mom."

Kissing his cheek and letting go of his hand she shook her head no . "No buts, now go."

Getting up to his feet and growling low in his throat, the boy began walking out of her room. He did it dragging his feet and when she was about to tell him to please don't do that she saw that Robin was standing right under her doorframe, his arms folded to his chest as he watched her.

When Henry walked pass him he relaxed his arms and reached for the boy to pat his shoulder playfully.

"I was actually quite curious to hear that answer as well." He said once Henry was outside hearing ratio.

Regina said nothing to that, instead she watched him for a few seconds before standing from the bed. Once up she closed her bag and breathed in deeply through her nose and then slowly exhaled through her mouth.

"Are you all packed up?"

"You don't have to do this, you know, Henry and I can go to a hotel or something."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw how he took a few steps into the bedroom, just enough to be close by without invading her personal space.

That he choose to keep that distance didn't go unnoticed by her and for lack of something better to do she opened her bag and started adding to it random items.

"Don't be silly, I have room in my place. I mean it's not as big as yours but I'm sure it will suffice until all this gets cleared up."

Blinking rapidly, Regina shook her head. For some reason, now more than ever she felt as if there was an iron clad fist wrapped around her heart that was even making it hard for her to breathe. "You don't have to feel obliged. You didn't do this… you know, even if you were accused of it."

Robin took another step towards her and this time he did touch her, he wrapped a hand around her from behind and buried his face into the crook of her neck. "I don't feel obliged, why would you think that?"

"Because you are angry… and because I can't just think of any other reason why you would want to stick around after this."

Moving his hands to her hips and making her swirl around so that she could face him, Robin searched into her eyes. He did that for a while, lips firmly set and a frown taking over his features.

Regina held her gaze without breathing and without blinking, because she was sure that if she did the lump that was stuck down her throat was going to escape.

"Are being serious?"

Regina shrugged and snorting, Robin turned around and ran a hand through his hair. That only lasted a second though and in a matter of nothing he was facing her again.

"You know, you are right that I'm pissed off. I think that's a fair reaction to have after being falsely accused of a felony and sure, I'm also not happy about what was done here to you; but that, and listen to me very clearly, that doesn't mean I am angry with you or that I'm just going to turn my back on you."

"Well maybe you should. This, everything that's going on here is more than what you bargained for."

Tilting his head a bit to the right but keeping his eyes on hers, Robin scoffed. "I'm not mad at you Regina, I'm really not, but if you tell me one more time that I should go or if you go ahead again and imply that I want to, I sure will get mad at you."

He let that sink in before going on. He also reached for her, placing a hand to her lower back and then making her take a step forward.

She went willingly, half the tightness on her chest letting go now that she knew he didn't want to bail out yet. She didn't say anything though, because she still didn't feel quite in her element and she wanted to hold onto the little composure she still had.

But she could at least breathe at ease now.

"I think I've been clear enough with you regarding to where I stand so stop trying to make up excuses to push me away. Now I know that you are probably mad yourself, tired and upset but-"

"I'm not upset." She hurried to say and folding her arms to her chest she chewed on her lips. She did that while settling her eyes on his almost defiantly.

Robin hummed, nibbling the corner of his lips. "It would be alright if you were, I know I would be if my mother ever did something like this."

"I'm used to it. I know you never quite believed me when I first told you but this is what she does." She replied simply, not really wanting to recognize that half the tightness in her chest, the one that still remained, was because of her mother and every single thing she has ever done to her.

"So she tries to burn your house regularly?"

Regina shook her head no as he pulled her a little closer into him.

"Actually this one is a first." Her voice trembled a little so she cleared her throat. "She's as narcissistic as they come and there's not a thing she has done that is not to undermine me, manipulate me or put me down in one way or another."

"And that doesn't upset you? Not everything she has ever done, not the talk you had with her earlier on, you know, the one that left you shaken up and not this?"

She opened her mouth to say that no, that Cora stopped having any kind effect on her long ago, but the only thing she managed to do was draw in a shaky breath.

At her reaction, Robin moved his hand to the nape of her neck; once there he leaned the rest of the way towards her and ever so lightly he pressed his mouth to hers.

She didn't know what was with her, maybe the pregnancy was making her be too hormonal.

"I just want you to know that I'm here if you want to talk about it."

"Okay."

"Now why don't we get out of here and get something to eat. I know I'm starving."

Regina agreed even though she had no appetite whatsoever. In fact, just thinking about eating made her stomach turn. But she went along with the plan and when Henry asked if they could have pizza she said that it was okay.

It was like that that they went to pick their food and Roland before heading to his place.

"Well, welcome to my humble abode. Like I said, it's not such a big of a place like yours but al least it's something."

Taking a look around, Regina blinked. The house was perfectly fine; sure, as he pointed out it wasn't as big as hers but she had to admit that she exaggerated a bit when she bought that place just for her and Henry.

"It's not burnt, that's a huge plus in my book."

"Mom." Henry complained through clenched teeth and Regina scoffed. He sometimes believed he was her father and would discretely let her know when she was being rude or indiscrete.

"Well it's true. It's quite nice too." She added for Henry's sake.

Watching the exchange, Roland giggled. "You can stay here forever, we have plenty space and our house doesn't burn because my dad says playing with fire is dangerous."

"It is." Chuckling as he ruffled his son's hair, Robin kept walking towards the table and after leaving the pizza there he turned to them. "Well alright, before anyone here starves why don't you start eating while I put the bags inside."

Not having to be told twice, both Roland and Henry started eating. Regina watched them with a soft smile on her face as they chatted; she didn't however make any attempt to eat herself.

She wasn't hungry and quite honestly the smell of food was making her feel sick. She has been fighting against the nausea it provoked in her for a while but now she felt like it was imminent.

Running a hand through her hair and closing her eyes, Regina tried to focus on the kids' conversation, but by the time Robin came to her and circled her waist with his arm she could barely hold it.

"Your bathroom?"

"You can use the one in my bedroom, it's at the end of the hallway-"

She didn't even let him finish and covering her mouth with her hand, she hurried in that direction. She almost didn't make it, and as soon as she walked into the bathroom she started to empty all the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

It hit her hard, so hard that she didn't even notice when Robin got in after her until she felt his hand on her back. She would have snapped at him and tell him to let her be because she didn't need an audience while vomiting her guts out, but she actually ended up with zero will to be snarky.

"Better?" He asked when she was apparently done.

"I'm fine…" After saying that, Regina moved to the bathroom sink to rinse her mouth. When she was done she decided that no, she was not fine. "Actually, I'm having the best day of my damn life, can't you see?"

Now yes, her tone was cutting, but her day was like a never-ending cycle of unfortunate events and she had to release all her tension some way.

"I can see that you're having some sort of day, I'm just not quite sure if it's the best one ever."

Twisting her lips and deciding not to reply to what he just said, first because she didn't want to end up arguing with him and second because she felt all shaken up, Regina just breathed in and then slowly out.

The headache that has been menacing to take over was just a dull throb, but her limbs felt like rubber and she wasn't sure if she could stay standing for much longer.

"Why don't you rest a bit while I make sure the kids finish eating so they can go to bed?"

Nodding and blinking her eyes slowly, Regina looked at him. "Thanks."

He left after kissing her forehead and Regina took that moment to grab her things and take a quick shower. She felt like she needed it before going to bed.

She stood there, under the spray of the shower for the longest time, trying to keep her mind in blank regarding everything that has been going on ever since she woke up that morning.

It has been an emotionally charged up day and now that night had crept over them she wanted nothing other than to sleep and forget about it all.

Once she finished with her shower she put on some clothes without even bothering to dry up and went straight towards Robin's bed.

There, she lay down without even undoing the covers and closed her eyes. She didn't fall asleep though, she was too dizzy for that, so when Robin finally entered the room she opened her eyes and sat up.

"Is Henry okay?" She hadn't been able to say goodnight to him and being in a strange environment she now felt like she should have done it. That doing it didn't even cross her mind made her feel guilty and like the worse mother ever.

Maybe not as bad as hers, but somewhere close.

"He's fine, I'm afraid I maybe let him take too much soda so he was a bit hyped; they both were so putting them to bed was quite a challenge."

As he walked to her, she noticed that he had a plate in his hand and when he reached the bed and sat with her he offered it.

"I'm not hungry."

"It's just toast, it's not much but this may actually hold in your stomach. You need to eat something, Regina."

With a roll of her eyes she grabbed the plate and started eating in small bites. She did it slowly and Robin watched for a while, and probably when he decided that she wasn't going to throw up all over his bed he went to take a shower.

When he was done she had already eaten all she was going to eat.

"Your boy, he's quite a good lad."

"I know." She said after taking the last sip of the apple juice he has brought. When she was done he took it away and sat in the corner of the bed. She was still sitting as well so they were now facing each other.

"He asked me to keep an eye for you, he said that you were going to say you were fine because that was how stubborn you were, but that you were not fine. He's worried and if I have to be honest so am I."

For some reason, that did it, everything she has been trying to keep inside burst out with a revenge and before she could hold it, she chocked in a sob before finally letting it out.

She couldn't do anything other than to hide her face behind the palms of her hands as she was finally hit with emotion.

Yes, it was definitely her hormones acting up because she wasn't the kind who let emotion rule over her, but after the day she just had she just sat there and cried.

Robin held her and in numerous times she tried to just stop and tell him that she was okay now, but with every word and every soothing touch a new wave of emotion would hit her.

It was as if she was ten again, crying into her pillow and wondering what was it that she had that made her mother not love her. That right there made her feel more than angry because Cora didn't deserve a single tear, but it was what it was.

It was only when she was able to calm down that she allowed him to take her hands from her face. That way, he wiped her tear stained cheeks and despite what just happened she snorted.

"Gosh, I'm such a mess."

He kissed her closed eyelids and then her forehead. "Come here."

With that said, he pulled her to him in a way than when he lay down, she came down with him, her head resting over his chest while his arm remained around her.

They remained like that for a few minutes, all until he broke the silence. "I don't care what she has made you think or what kind of poison she tried to feed you, but you are one hell of a woman, a great mother and you are worth loving, Regina."

Closing her eyes tight shut because she didn't want to start crying all over again, the brunette drew in a shaky breath and then hugged herself to him.

As a response, he pulled her even closer, kissing the top of her head as she breathed into the moment, as she breathed into the scent of him that seemed to be everywhere in that room. She didn't know how to put into words what she was feeling, but being there, with him made her feel like she was finally home so she smiled.

"I love you." She said, closing her eyes and thinking that yes, those were the words she has been looking for.

"And I you."

She felt asleep in a matter of nothing, leaving the chapter of Cora behind, or so she hoped


	25. Chapter 25

Clenching her teeth and twisting her lips into a grimace that spoke volumes of the acrid mood that has taken over her, Regina Mills slammed down the handset of her office's telephone back into its cradle with so much impetus that for a second she was sure that she broke it.

After some observation, she noticed that the phone wasn't even damaged and she lamented it because in some weird kind of way she has wanted to take out her frustration against it and slamming it once didn't do the trick.

Wanting to break it was juvenile, she knew it; but it was just that she was annoyed and annoyance wasn't an attribute that suited her well.

It has always been like that for her and even though she has learnt to tame most of the wild impulses her moods used to provoke in her, everybody knew that when she was in a temper the best to do was to leave her alone to cool off.

It was basically an unspoken rule around the office, a rule that everybody and their mothers seemed to be breaking that day. It was almost as if they knew how much they bothered her with their constant questions regarding the day's newspaper and knowing made them want to keep their fingers in the wound.

Sure, surprisingly enough most of the people who pointed the article about her and Robin were more than supportive and according to them they would still vote for her, but if anything, their words made her feel even more annoyed than she had any right to be and she was sure that if she didn't find release soon, the insipid little phone was going to suffer the consequences.

Breathing in and then slowly out, the brunette stared intently at the phone, somehow hating it for the news it just bore her.

"It's okay… this is nothing." She said firmly to herself while fixing her hair with her manicured fingers.

And it was really nothing, she has lived through worse things than having to receive in her office who she considered to be the biggest nuisance in town so she was sure she could pull through just fine.

The only thing she needed to do was keep her composure during the meeting and that was it. Yes, it was going to be a hard task to accomplish because the man has always rubbed her the wrong way and in her current mood she could just snap, but she was sure that she could refrain from doing just that.

She had to, because she was not going to give him the satisfaction of having an upper hand, oh no.

She just needed to get into a much better frame of mind. Like when she woke up; because if there was something that she was sure was that she didn't wake up like feeling so irate.

Quite the contrary, despite having one of the worse days of her life the day before, that morning she woke up actually feeling renewed. She didn't know if it was because of Robin and how he was going out of his way to make her feel like everything was going to be just fine or because as soon as she stepped out of the bedroom she received a double hug of both Henry and Roland, but the thing was that she has been actually feeling fine, perhaps even happy.

She has even been able to eat breakfast without her stomach getting upset and she actually felt like she was going to have a great day.

There were no thoughts of Cora and her burned house or anything that would put her down… at least that was until she arrived to the Town Hall and people started to basically shove the newspaper in her face so that she could read the article that was published about her and Robin; now it was this…

Taking in another deep breath and closing her eyes for a couple of seconds, Regina massaged her temples. By the time the knock came she was a bit more calmed down, and when the door opened to reveal an apologetically looking Belle she just lifted her face and stared at the man who came behind her.

"Madame Mayor." Belle began to say, but she was interrupted when the visitor walked past her and took a seat.

"Regina, what a pleasant surprise to finally see you."

"Gold." She said, nodding at Belle to let her know that she could go. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

Now, her voice didn't come off dripping venom as she was afraid it would, but she was sure that the false pleasantry didn't go unnoticed by the man. She knew because the smile he flashed her way was as real as a three dollar bill.

"Well first of all I want to apologize for not coming sooner to let you know how glad I am that you are actually alive and kicking. It was truly a relief when the news broke. You did have a lovely funeral though, very emotive."

Biting the inside of her cheek so hard that she almost cringed, Regina arched an eyebrow. "I'm sure it was." As she was sure it was very disappointing to some to see her come back, especially him.

She could even imagine his little beady eyes shining in amusement just by thinking that a plane took down the only impediment he had to be mayor himself.

"Your lady mother sure outdid herself with that one. How is she by the way? I heard she had to leave town abruptly."

Leaning forward and placing her elbows over her desk, Regina blinked slowly. She was sure that he threw the comment because he was well aware of what happened in her house and how it came to be so she once and for all wanted to cut the crap.

For years she has been tiptoeing around the man's antics and dirty antics and that day wasn't the best one for her to be cautious.

"What do you want, Gold? I have a lot of work to do so I don't have much time to waste with your pettiness."

Arching both eyebrows, Gold chuckled. "Well, since we are finally being direct I just came to thank you for basically handing me that chair." With that said he took out of his pocked a neatly folded paper. When he opened it she saw that it was the front page of the day's newspaper. He put it in her desk and then he just smiled. "Who would have known that having an auditor was really going to be your demise, just not the way I've expected."

Scoffing, Regina shook her head. "You think you can win this election just because of a picture?"

"If it's not the picture it will be your deranged family drama; what really matters here is that for next term I will be the one sitting in that chair."

Feeling her mood getting even more sour by the second, Regina clenched her teeth. She didn't want him to know how much it bothered her to know that he indeed had a good chance to become mayor now that she was retiring so she was going to keep that information for herself.

"Is that all?"

"Basically."

Nodding, Regina reached for the phone and pressed for the intercom that connected between Belle and her. "Mr. Gold is leaving." She said and after the woman replied that she was on her way, the man got to his feet.

"That's not necessary, I'll show myself out. People need to start getting used to see me around here." With that said, he started to make his way towards the door.

Once out Regina did take the handset and slammed it once, then two times into its cradle. It didn't break and in frustration she groaned, her hands going to her head and her fingernails compulsively digging into her scalp.

She remained like that for a couple of minutes, then, after taking in a few breathes that didn't do much to calm her down she reached for her personal phone and went to make a call.

It rang two times before the other person picked up. "Hey, gorgeous."

"Have you ever felt like strangling someone with your bare hands?" She asked, reaching for the handset once again and wrapping her fingers tight around it.

At the other side of the line, Robin chuckled. "I have four brothers so yes, when we were lads I've felt more than temped a few times. Never before noon though."

Despite her sour mood, the brunette's lips curved just with the sound of his accent coming off smoothly against her ear. "I'm going to take you never did it."

"No, not quite. My mum wouldn't have any of that, not in her house at least."

"Hmm." Regina hummed, relaxing her hold on the other phone and resting against the back of the chair. "Well I felt like strangling someone today and not doing it actually left me feeling angrier than before."

"What happened? I mean you left the house looking quite cheerful."

"People happened. They've been getting on my nerves ever since I stepped in here. I don't even know how many times I've had a newspaper shoved in my face and I even had Sidney come here to actually tell me how much of a bad publicity the article was."

"I bet he did, bloody knob head that he is and all."

"And as if that wasn't enough, Gold came by, apparently wanting to have a pissing contest with me."

"Is that the one you wanted to strangle?"

Blowing out a breath and suddenly realizing how much she was relying on Robin, Regina chewed on her lips. She has always been a lone wolf so even though the nature of her job required her to always be surrounded by people, she couldn't say that she really socialized with any of them.

That was why for the longest of times she has been dealing with her issues on her own, because there has been no one other than Henry to unburden whatever problem or worry she could have and God knew that most of them she couldn't share with the boy.

Sure, there has been Graham, but whatever kind of relationship they had was based purely in a physical aspect and to that day she couldn't remember ever wanting to call the man just so they could talk. So no, there actually has been no one.

But then came Robin out of nowhere and without even realizing it she was counting on him for almost everything; from needing a place to crash with her son after her house burned to venting when she was having a bad day at work.

If she had to be honest realizing that was kind of intimidating. It was like venturing into unknown waters when she has forgotten how to swim.

"Yes." She kept the answer simple, her mind still reeling about what she just realized.

"Lucky for you I can help with that. I can either be your ride or die and we go together to get him or I can pick you up so we can have lunch. Who knows, maybe food will make you feel less murderous."

Clicking her tongue, Regina shrugged. "Well I can't go strangling people every time they want to eat my porridge so I guess I will go with lunch."

"Perfect, then let's do this, text me whatever you feel like eating and when I finish with what I'm doing I'll get it before picking you up. I'll to take you somewhere I want to show you and we'll eat there. Is one o'clock alright?"

Taking a look at the hour, Regina saw that it was just eleven and she wondered what could a man who just quit his job be doing that he couldn't arrive to where she was a bit earlier. "You are busy?"

"You could say so. So see you later?"

"Okay." She replied, half of her wanting to ask him what was he doing and the other half whispering in her ear that his whereabouts should not be of any concern to her.

She didn't want to be the clingy type.

"Oh and Regina." He began to say. "I'm not bad publicity, I've been telling you this for some time now but the man has it for you pretty bad. That's why he basically advised you against you and me being together. Anyway, I got to go so… don't forget to text me what you want. Love you."

Scoffing, Regina arched an eyebrow once she noticed that he hung up on her. "Seriously?"

Putting the phone down, the brown eyed woman cleared her throat. Even though he cut her off abruptly, the conversation with Robin made her feel somehow less vexed and that helped her go through some of the paperwork she had pending.

By the time Robin arrived to pick her up a couple of hours later she was almost all caught up with everything she had to do.

Grabbing her things and walking out of the office, Regina spotted Robin's car, he was waiting for her right outside the building and upon seeing her, he climbed out of the vehicle to open the passenger door.

In any other occasion she wouldn't have minded the gesture, but on her way out she noticed that there were a few of the people who worked for her standing outside and she realized that there was no way they wouldn't notice the former auditor being there picking her up.

Quickening her steps, she fished for her designer sunglasses and put them on, avoiding that way any eye contact with all of them. She could specifically feel Sidney's eyes burning a hole through her back as she moved forwards and all she wanted to do was get in the car and leave.

Of course, Robin apparently had other plans and as a greeting, he went ahead and kissed her full on the mouth once she made it to him. He went full for it, even grabbing the back of her head as his lips pressed firmly against hers.

"What the hell are you doing?" She hissed once he pulled away, a stupid smile plastered on his face.

"What do you mean?" He asked, placing a hand to her lower back and guiding her into the car.

Once inside, he closed the door and got in as well.

"Are you serious?" She asked a bit incredulous once they were both inside. Robin just wrinkled his nose and started to drive away as if he had no idea what he just did. "I can't believe you did just that."

"What? I thought we were not hiding anymore."

Regina scoffed. "We are not, but that doesn't mean we are going to make out all over town and in front of everyone. Gosh I'll never hear the end of this." Especially Sidney… stopping her thoughts there, she tilted her head towards him and took off the sunglasses to take a real good look at him.

"We were not making out, it was just a little peck."

"You were marking territory." It wasn't a question, and when he arched an eyebrow and took a quick glance at her before focusing back on the road she knew she was right.

Not knowing if she should be amused or annoyed at what he just did, she scoffed again.

"You're bloody right I was. I told you I was going to do it."

Remembering how he once told her that he was going to kiss her in front of Sidney in a past conversation where he told her the man had a thing for her, she shook her head no. "I can't believe you. What's next, are we going to stop by the Sheriff so you can do another one of your macho displays?"

"What does the Sheriff has to do with this?"

Blinking a couple of times, Regina bit on her thumb and straightened her pose so that she could look at the road ahead. "Never mind."

"Regina."

"It's nothing, okay?"

"Alright now I'm curious. Is there anything about the Sheriff I need to know."

Shrugging, she looked at him. "I don't want you to freak out while you are driving."

Robin hummed, but he said nothing more. That way, he droved until they apparently arrived to their destination.

Climbing out, she saw how Robin grabbed a few bags with what she assumed was the food and taking her hand in his he guided her into one of the locales lining the street. It seemed to be some kind of bar, a closed one so when he took a set of keys and opened the door she frowned.

"What is this place?" She asked once they were inside and the door was closed. It was indeed a bar, that was obvious but it was half empty.

On his part, Robin placed the food over the counter bar and then turned to her, grabbing her face and kissing her.

Unlike the one he gave her in front of the office, he went deeper this time, his tongue breaking past her lips so it could brush against hers. She complied, kissing him back and resting her hands to his shoulders.

But then when she was liking the way he was kissing her too much, he pulled away. He did however circle her waist with his arms and kept her close.

"You can't blame me for wanting to kiss you." Pressing his mouth to her chin and then dragging the contact to her throat, he kissed her there.

"I'm not blaming you for wanting to kiss me, but we can't go all around town doing this."

"No?" He whispered and she closed her eyes, biting her lips and sliding her hand to the back of his head, her fingers running through his hair as he lightly nibbled her flesh.

"No…"

"Are you going to tell me about the Sheriff now?"

Snorting because she has expected him to ask sooner, she shrugged. "There's not much to tell. It was a long time ago, I wasn't even Mayor."

"Was it serious? I mean because last night we were all at your house." Robin has been busy dragging his lips along her throat and up her chin, kissing and nibbling where he could, but upon asking that question he lifted his head to look at her in the eye.

"Not at all, just physical." And it has been just that, from time to time they would get together to scratch whatever itch she could have and that was it. It ended as soon as she became Mayor and that was it.

She didn't even had to call it off because she knew Graham was well aware that there was no way the Mayor and the Sheriff could hook up without the entire town knowing.

Now, Robin chuckled at what she just said. "Well you know, that doesn't make me feel any better, like at all."

Laughing, Regina moved her hand to his cheek. "Are you jealous?"

Smiling himself at thus letting her know he wasn't completely serious, he shrugged. "No, definitely no. Okay maybe a little."

"Don't be silly. Like I said, it was a long, long time ago and it was nothing. You are the first serious relationship I've had since I came back here."

Arching his eyebrows, he bit on his lips. "Oh so we're serious?"

"Meh, just a little. Just enough to be on the cover of the town's newspaper and everybody's gossip for the day."

He laughed, tightening his hold on her. "So we're the it couple. It's alright, that's good enough for me."

Snorting and rolling her eyes, Regina let her hand drop from his face. "So what's this place? You never answered."

"You like it? Because I just bought it."

Doing a double take and staring at him, she scoffed. "You bought a bar?"

"I did, with a little bit of work I may be even able to open it in a couple of weeks. I got everything planned out and yes, it case the Mayor in you is wondering I got all my paperwork up to date."

"Wow. I mean this is great, I didn't even know this was something you wanted." Sure, out the window went her plans of leaving town for good but it was okay, it was a crazy plan anyway.

"I've been considering it for a while now, just kept postponing it. But since I'm suddenly out of a job and with a lot of free time on my hands I said why the bloody hell not?"

Looking around the place, she nodded. "It's going to be great." She said before kissing him and she meant it. She was happy for him if it was what he wanted.

"So should we eat now? We have to feed our daughter." He said that placing a hand to her stomach.

"Daughter? You are kind of getting ahead of yourself, it could be a boy for all we know."

"Or both? A boy and a girl."

Shaking her head no, she twisted her lips. "Hell no, one is enough."

"We'll see about that, we'll see…"

"Oh we will, and it's going to be just one. In fact, I have my appointment for Thursday. You want to come?"

"I do."

Smiling and suddenly realizing that her rotten mood was all gone, Regina grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. She had thought about it from time to time but it was in that moment that she was seeing that him and everything that came along with the man arrived into her life to make it better.

Sure, she had to go through hell to get to where she was with him in that moment but at the end she could tell that it has all been worth it.

"Good, then let's eat."

With that said and with a smile on her face she went with him, walking by his side as he started to tell her about all the plans he had when it came to that place, his place…


	26. Chapter 26

"You're going to have a baby?"

Taking in a deep breath as her eyes fixed intently in the inquiring brown orbs of the boy sitting next to her, Regina lifted a hand to her face so that she could run the ball of her pinky finger along her eyebrow.

She did that as a way to win a little bit of more time, and as that happened she couldn't help but to notice how her son has lowered his head the slightest bit while keeping his stare on her, his mouth partly open as he apparently waited for an answer.

Now, she couldn't exactly decipher what was the expression on his face and the truth was that not knowing for sure made her feel kind of anxious. Was he surprised or was he upset? She didn't know, but whatever it was it made her consider her words carefully before letting them roll out of her tongue.

"Yes, I am." She said tentatively as Henry blinked slowly, the new information she just provided settling into his brain as he shifted his eyes back to the ultrasound picture in his hand.

For a while Regina held her breath, waiting, the only thing preventing her from freaking out with uncertainty the firm hold Robin reassuringly had on her other hand.

"Are you sure…? Because it doesn't look like a baby." Henry said at last, but still, his expression remained unreadable to her.

"Let me see, let me see!"

Jumping to his feet, Roland, who has been sitting on his father's lap as they broke the news of her pregnancy to both boys snatched the image out of Henry's hold and gasped a bit dramatically.

"Whoa." He breathed out, his eyes shinning and his brows knitting. "Okay where is it? I can't see no baby either."

Despite the fact that she was still trying to gauge her son's reaction, Regina snorted at the little boy's tone. In a way he and Henry were right because the image of the ultrasound she got earlier that day didn't exactly resemble a baby.

At seven weeks it looked more like a large peanut than an actual living creature so she knew what they meant; after all if it wasn't because she has been able to hear the heartbeat of the new life growing inside of her she would still be a bit incredulous herself.

"That's because it's still a tiny little thing." Robin said as the youngest of their boys kept his eyes fixed on the sonogram. "But as time goes by it will grow big enough for you to see it clearly."

"Can I see it even if it's inside Regina's tummy?"

"Sure, but only through these." The man said while touching the picture. "Until he or she is born that is."

Putting the ultrasound down, Roland got closer to Regina and placed one of his little hands on her stomach, his face curious and full of wonder. "Will it be a boy? I Want a boy."

Wrinkling her nose and giving him room so that he could feel around, Regina reached for the boy's forehead and brushed his hair off his face. He looked ecstatic, while Henry just sat by her side, arms across his chest and his lips pursed. He didn't look happy like at all. "We don't know yet."

"Because you are just a little pregnant but when the baby gets bigger you will know and you will tell me, right?"

Leaning forward so she could talk into the kid's ear, she smiled. "How about if I tell you first of all people?"

"Yes!" Giggling, Roland took his hands away so that he start jumping around. But then as if he just remembered something he stopped. That way he pouted his lips and swirled around on his feet. "How did you put the baby there, papa?"

Regina heard rather than saw how Robin chocked up at the unexpected question and her own eyes widened as she drew in a breath. As for the boys, Henry literally slapped his face with the palm of his hand as Roland stared at his father questioningly.

Letting go of the hold he had on her so that he could run a hand down his face, Robin chuckled almost nervously. "How did I… what?"

Sighing loudly in a way that was probably way ahead his age, Roland threw his hands in the air. "I said, how did you put the baby in her tummy?"

"Wow, well… that's quite an interesting question you got there, you know for such a little guy."

"Did you swallow it?" Turning to Regina, Roland asked. It made her do a double take and scoffing, she tilted her head towards Robin as if searching for answers.

"Oh my God. I'm going to get some air." Getting to his feet, Henry groaned and left. It made Regina follow him with her eyes until he was out the door.

As background noise she heard Robin say something back to his son and yes, part of her was telling her that the man was probably in some serious need of help regarding the question he has been asked and that having had the experience already of explaining the whole deal, that she should step in. But at the same time she couldn't focus on anything that wasn't Henry and his unusual sullen mood.

"I think I'm going to get some fresh air as well." With that said, she patted Robin's knee and got up from the sofa as well.

Following Henry, she stepped out of the house and found the boy sitting on the steps that lead to the entrance, his head down and his arms folded to his chest.

He was slouched over and judging by the look on his face, he was not in a good mood. That right there definitely let her know that he hadn't been exactly alright with the news of her pregnancy.

"Are you alright?" She asked sitting by his side. Upon listening to her he straightened his posture while taking a furtive glance her way.

"Are you going to send me to live with Emma now?"

Surprised by the question, Regina blinked rapidly while shaking her head. "Why would I do that?"

Henry shrugged, focusing his eyes forward while sucking his lips into his mouth. "If you are going to have your own baby then why would you want me for?"

The words made her gasp in surprise because they were definitely not what she had expected to hear. "Henry Daniel Mills, look at me."

He did, and when she looked into his eyes she noticed that they were full of unshed tears. That got to her and instead of the lecture she was about to give she reached for him and hugged him.

Kissing the top of his head as he sniffed, Regina closed her eyes and breathed in. Part of her was upset that he would think that she would want to get rid of him just because she was pregnant and the other was feeling for him. After all he was just a boy, one that has lived his whole life used to just being the two of them and who now had to adjust and live with so many changes.

So there was that, but there was also the fact that in a way she could understand his insecurities because she had felt them too. When Emma came into the picture she has been terrified of loosing him to her so she knew how he was feeling.

It was awful the kind of thoughts that would invade her mind whenever he came talking about what he did with Emma and how much fun they had together that she didn't even want to think back to those times. But her own experience could help him make him see what was going on so she was going to use them.

"When Emma came into your life, did you feel like packing your things and moving out with her?"

"No."

"Why not? She is after all your biological mother and if you found her, why would you need me for? She was this new an exciting mom who would let you stay up until late and who wasn't chewing your behind about homework and keeping your room tidy so why not just… you know, leave?"

Scoffing as only a child she has raised would do, Henry shrugged. "Because you are my forever mom, even if she was there… and because I wanted to be with you."

Grabbing his head and making him face her, the brunette smiled softly. She was glad he was telling her that because as stated before, Emma brought out a lot of insecurities about her relationship with Henry and the subject was always gnawing at the back of her brain.

"If it was like that with you then why would it be any different with me. Henry, nothing in this world and nobody will change the fact that you are my son. Do you understand that?"

He nodded, blinking rapidly as she smoothed his cheeks with her thumbs.

"And this baby will not be replacing you, just as Emma didn't replace me. It's just… that our family is growing."

Chewing on the inside of her lips as the notion of what she just said kept settling in her own brain, Regina breathed out.

Earlier that day when she had been finally able to confirm through a doctor that she was indeed with child and that everything seemed to be just fine, she has at last allowed herself to finally believe it; but still, she was struggling to internalize it.

She was really going to have a baby.

"You'll be a big brother now."

With his lips curving into a smile, Henry tilted his head to the right. "I guess I will be twice over. You know, with you being Robin's girlfriend or whatever… like you refused to admit the other day, we also have to count Roland in."

Letting a chuckle escape her, Regina ran her fingers through her hair. With everything that has been going on, her relationship with Robin wasn't something she has been able to talk with Henry and he was bringing it up.

Now, she didn't know if girlfriend was the right word, but it would be awkward to point that out to her son. Especially since he was now aware that they were having a baby and yes, since he knew they have been sleeping in the same room for the last couple of days.

"Are you okay with that, with me and Robin being together?"

Shrugging, the boy lifted his chin up and grinned. "Sure. I like him, first because he's cool and second because he takes care of you."

Laughing, she kissed his cheek hard. "What do you mean? I think I can take care of myself pretty good."

"I know." He rolled his eyes. "But it's not the same. I don't know how to explain it, but when I was told your plane disappeared I knew you were not dead. I just knew it, but I was so afraid thinking you were somewhere all alone, so when I found you were not I felt so much better. That's why I wanted to know him at first, to make sure you have been well taken cared off and you were, he's awesome. He helped you there and here with the Cora thing but more than any of that, I like him because he makes you smile like you mean it."

Touched by his words, she kissed him again, this time first on his forehead and then a few times on top of his head, then when he rolled his eyes and burst out a laugh she kissed his cheek one last time. "When did you became so wise?"

He shrugged, leaning into her when she wrapped an arm around him.

"I know we are going through a lot of changes as of late but we'll go through them together, like we always have."

"Okay."

"You know what won't change?"

"What?"

"Your bedtime hour on a school night so let's get moving so that you can prepare for sleep."

"Actually… I was thinking that I could skip school tomorrow and help around in our house. I mean they are going to fix the kitchen so don't you think I should be around making sure everything is done right?"

Arching an eyebrow, she snorted. "That's not going to happen. We can however grab a quick snack before bed because I'm kind of hungry."

Snickering, Henry got to his feet and then helped her up to, saying she couldn't be making too much efforts while pregnant. It made her laugh that he did that because yes, her son was growing and it showed.

By the time they were done and she finally made it into the bedroom, she did it with a big smile on her face. Robin was there already, sitting by the corner of the bed and apparently out of a shower. She knew because his hair looked damp while carelessly going everywhere and the fresh scent of soap was swirling in the air.

He didn't see her come in though, he was engrossed reading something out of some papers so she had several seconds to study him over.

Now, seeing him like that sent a flashback of their days on the Island into her mind and her smile got a bit bigger. He only needed to be shirtless and sunburnt to look as he has done back there.

The memory made her remember how much she has tried to fight whatever it was that started brewing between them while stranded and yes, it also came into her mind that they sure had come through a lot along the way, more than what most people could handle in a lifetime.

From the crash to being stuck in a deserted Island and then everything that came after.

Looking back at it all, she could only say that never in a million years she would have imagined that they would end up like this. That in such a short amount of time he was going to sweep her off her feet and challenge every single view she had on life.

At least was something that didn't cross her mind back on the day when she saw him walk into her office that first time, with his patented dimple smile and that shine in his eye.

But here they were now and yes, despite anything she could have ever believed in, it was all good.

"How was your talk with Roland?"

Tilting his head up so that he could look her way, Robin snorted, putting the papers over his nightstand and drawing in a deep breath. "Scarring… mostly for me of course. He was such a hungry little rascal, the more answers I fed him the more he wanted to know. It was bloody traumatic in every possible way."

Biting her lips into her mouth, Regina locked the door and walked towards the bed. Once there she climbed on top of it and kneeling behind him she placed her hands on his shoulders, her fingers putting a bit of pressure on his flesh and then kneading a path up his neck and then down to his back.

"At that age I was being tricked into eating mud pies by a pesky girl that lived by our house and here's this kid asking about making babies and whatnots."

Unable to help it, she smiled. She knew how awkward those talks could turn into so she could relate. "Sorry I was of no help."

Throwing his head back as she kept her fingers working, Robin sighed. "It's okay. I noticed you had your hands busy with Henry. Is he alright?"

"He is now; but he had this idea that because I'll be having a baby that I was going to send him away to live with Emma and he was upset about it."

"Really, and why would he think that?"

Humming, Regina shrugged. "He is sometimes like that, he tends to overreact and think things ahead of time."

Robin scoffed. "You mean like you?"

Stopping her ministrations and letting her hands rest over his shoulders, Regina twisted her lips. "What do you mean like me?"

"I think it has been proven that you are a bit of a pessimist yourself. You always assume the worse is going to happen and even tend to overreact so that your kid is the same way is not surprising at all."

Opening her mouth to protest what he just said, Regina furrowed her brows. She said nothing though, first because he was not wrong and second because she was in an extremely good mood and she didn't want to ruin it.

"Shut up." She said at last, reaching for the edge of his shirt to take it off and then reassuming the movements of her hands of massaging his shoulders and back, this time enjoying the feeling of his warm skin under her fingertips.

Humming low in his throat, Robin tilted his head to the right and she went ahead and leaned forward so that she could brush her lips to his neck, placing a kiss there and then dragging her mouth to the spot right below his ear.

"Hmm, seems like someone's feeling a tad frisky tonight."

Keeping her lips on him while her teeth lightly worried the special place where his pulse beat against his skin, Regina slid her hands to his chest, down his stomach and straight towards the bulge between his legs. Once he was at her reach she stroked him through the fabric of his pants while her frame molded to his back.

"Seems like this _someone_ isn't the only one feeling frisky."

Letting a raspy laugh escape through his lips, Robin looked down to see what she was doing with her hands. "That one is entirely on you. Can't blame me for reacting to you getting all touchy friendly."

His hips shoot up a little as he said that and his interest made her want to go further, that's how she allowed her hands to fumble underneath his clothes so that the contact could be flesh to flesh.

"So if that's on me, does it mean I can do with it whatever I want?"

She kept the movement firm but methodical, her palm closing around him as it slid from base to the very tip.

"It's all yours." His tone was meant to come off as amused, but Regina couldn't miss the dark undertone of it and that made her smirk.

"Good."

Taking her hand away and moving over the mattress so that she could have easier access to him, she took the invitation and did exactly what she wanted and how she wanted, making him take off his pants and underwear before grabbing his erection to firmly to run her tongue against the length of him.

"Jesus, Regina…" He growled when she closed her mouth around him.

Loving the timbre of his voice as he said her name in such a throaty way, the brunette continue doing what she was doing, which was taking all of what she could of him into her mouth until he was hissing under his breath and tangling his hand in her hair, not exactly guiding her movements but just encouraging to go on.

She thrived on his reaction on for a while she kept on treating him, the taste of him invading all her senses. It made her own desire pick up so when he grabbed her face and forced himself out of her mouth she didn't protest.

"Come here."

Pulling from him and raising to her knees, she went ahead and took off her own clothes before helping herself onto his lap, straddling him. Once there she wrapped her arms around his neck and smirked slyly. "Hi."

He was right when he has said that she was in a playful mood because she really was and since the boys were put to bed, why not make the best of it?

Her days in that house were coming to an end since the damage done to her own home with the fire was being repaired and as soon as Saturday, she and Henry could be heading back. Meaning that she better use her time right because she still wasn't sure how this new development in hers and Robin's relationship was going to work.

"Hi." His eyes, a shade darker than the usual silvery blue she loved so much shone into hers as he replied back and Regina took that as a hint to grab his face to guide it to hers; when he was close enough she pressed her mouth to his.

She didn't push it farther than that and just lingered, but then he moved his thumb to her jaw and pulled it down, creating a gap so that he could deepen the kiss.

Sighing at the way his tongue melted against her own, Regina kissed him back. She couldn't put it into a coherent sentence, but the truth that no matter how many times they would dance this dance, he was always capable of clouding her judgement so that she could focus on sensation only.

It was simple, with his kiss and the way his fingers would roam all along her skin, there was no thought of how messed up her life was, there was no sadness or anger, there was only him.

Rotating her hips so that her groin could grind against his own arousal, Regina felt both his hands move to the same spot. They went right to her ass cheeks and once there he grabbed her, his hands full as he pulled her even more into him. The movement made her hum against him, and when their privates made full contact, she moaned.

But just as she was starting to really get in the mood, he pulled from the kiss and patted her ass playfully. "We may want to keep it down, don't want to wake up the boys and go on and give even more awkward explanations."

Parting her mouth while her tongue pressed to the corner of her lips, Regina blinked slowly. Then, without even replying she pushed him back so that he could lay down while she remained sitting over him.

"I'll try."

Chuckling and moving his hands to her hips and then down between their bodies, Robin made her lift a little and then he used one of his fingers to run it down her slit. He did it lightly, and not even as she spread her legs a bit more did he went further.

She wanted him to get further and judging by how his erection pushed insistently against her, she was going to guess he wanted it too.

"I want you." Craving to feel more, she leaned forward and kissed him until she was breathless and until his hands ran along every inch of her skin; and when he finally slid into her and they started to move with a sweet urgency as one, she was kissing him too…

As he pointed out they should, they did things as quietly as they could, but that didn't stop the occasional moan to escape them or their ragged breathing and low growls to take over the silence.

She tried though, and he helped by swallowing her moans into his kiss as the friction of her body moving against his overwhelmed her. Then there was the way he was grabbing the flesh of her behind to grind her against him and how it felt to have him as deep as he could go and that was it for her.

She came undone first, going into a sweet oblivion and then back, as it almost always happened and as his time was close too, he told her about it.

"Yeah?" Feeling her skin tingling all over with the force of her release, she asked in a strangled breath against his mouth. She was still on top of him, his rhythm had picked up and she could sense how close he was. "I want to feel it."

Yes, feeling him finish inside of her was something she liked a little too much. It was definitely the reason why she ended up pregnant but since that was already done why not enjoy it?

The warmness of it, the knowledge that it was something so his only for her and how in some way the essence of him inside of her marked her as his. Then there was the way he would suck in a breath as he let go and how he would clung to her as his thrusts became harder and somehow erratic. She just loved all of it.

Hissing, he let his hips dart forward so he could slam into her and that was it, with another growl and with his face flushing, his mouth searched hungrily for hers.

Closing her eyes and receiving into her body all he had to give, she kissed him until they were both spent and satiated.

They went to sleep that night in a tangle of limbs, and when morning came she woke up yet again in an extremely good mood.

There was no morning sickness and even though she has learnt that she could be hit with it at any given hour, she went to work hoping she would be spared of it that day.

"Good morning." She said in a somehow cheerful tone when she walked into the office and saw Belle already there putting some papers in her already cleaned up desk.

"Good morning, Madame Mayor."

Picking the somehow tentative tone of the other woman, Regina frowned. She has worked with Belle for too long to know when she was either itching to tell her something or quite the contrary, when she wanted to keep something from her.

That right there made her sigh because it was typical that whenever she was in a good mood something would come up to ruin it.

"What is it?" She asked, her tone coming up a little harsh.

Taking in a deep breath, the secretary ran a hand through her hair. "As you know, today is the deadline for the nominations for the upcoming election."

Rolling her eyes and taking a seat, Regina pursed her lips. "Yes, and?" She has already told the woman she was not going to run so she didn't know why she thought she cared about the deadline.

"Well… since you are not running for office and well, since there is really no competition Gold has been going all over town saying how he will be the next Mayor and the changes he will be making. People are not exactly happy."

Taking in a deep breath, the current Mayor blinked a couple of times. "I can't do much about that." If he won he won, and people needed to deal with it.

"He's talking about privatizing school and shutting down the community park to make a parking lot. And that's just him starting."

Letting out an incredulous snort, Regina leaned forward. "That greedy little… imp." The truth was that she didn't like what she just heard because she has gone out of her way to make the town's school one of the best of the district just so he could make a profit out of it… and the garden…

She has done that, that has been one of the first projects she worked on when she became Mayor and she has done it for Henry, so that he could have a safe recreational space within town.

If Gold took it down Roland wouldn't be able to enjoy and same with her baby.

"If you would just run he would have no chance of winning." Now Belle said that as fast as she could, almost as if saying it any slower would make her point invalid.

Regina just watched her. Like stated before, she has worked with her long enough to admit that she has been a very resourceful employee. She could count on her more than she could on Sidney and that was why she decided not to snap at her words.

In fact, probably for the first time ever she decided to talk to her not as Mayor to secretary, but as Regina to Belle.

"I'm pregnant with whom used to be my auditor's baby so I don't think I'll have a chance against Gold even if I wanted to run, which I don't." The man would just tear her a new one because she was simply a PR disaster. And that would only be with the baby, her mommy issues were another source for him to exploit and knowing Gold like she did, she was well aware that he would not be afraid to use the information to soil her image.

"You're pregnant? Wow, that's amazing so um, congratulations." Belle said with a small laugh and Regina dismissed her with a motion of her hand.

She has never liked people nosing into her private matters and if she confessed it was because she wanted to make the woman see why was it that she shouldn't run.

"Now… not that my opinion is that important but I don't think you being pregnant would be a problem for the election. Quite the contrary."

Regina scoffed, not sure where was it that Belle got lost in the narrative. But before she could remind her of the situation of how Robin got her pregnant while he was still auditor, the secretary cleared her throat and went on.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this…" Belle sat in one of the chairs and drew in a deep breath. "You've always won elections because you are good at what you are and people know you are effective. But… the truth is that they have never felt like they could relate with… well you know, you."

Arching an eyebrow but not really surprised by the words, Regina hummed.

"It's like you've always been way up high and they down low. But with all of this, going back to the plane accident and then the thing with Robin is like they are finally seeing you as more than just Madame Mayor and more like a real person. You wouldn't even imagine the amount of people who have come to me out in the street asking about you and Robin and not in a bad way."

"That's probably because they are nosey and want in with all the gossip."

"I think it was that at first. But now I'm pretty much sure it's more than just sheer curiosity. Robin is well liked around town and after everything that you two went through I'm sure they are actually rooting for the both of you."

That made her laugh, partly because it was ridiculous and then because if it was true it would mean that what her mother made public to hurt her could actually end up helping her. It was ironic, and in a way satisfying.

"So you're saying Robin is actually a good publicity stunt for me?" God he would have a kick out of that if he only heard.

"Only that it wouldn't be a stunt if it's real. A baby would just be the icing on top of the cake."

Tapping her fingers to her lips, Regina looked at the woman through half closed eyelids. "You sound just like my mother. Only that less… deranged."

"I know you care about Storybrooke, you wouldn't have done half the things you've done if it wasn't that way so if you happen to change your mind… like before noon just let me know so that I can put your name in the candidates."

"Sure. You'll be the first to know if I change my mind." She said that, but even to her own ears her tone came off as anything but sincere.

"Okay." Taking that as her cue to leave, Belle got to her feet and walked out the door.

Once alone, Regina began to do what she came to do, which was work, but as she did it her mind would keep going around in circles and she couldn't quite concentrate.

Two hours later she picked her phone and sent a message to Robin.

"_I'm about to do something stupid…"_

She would have call him but she didn't want to bother him, she knew he was busy getting things ready for the upcoming opening of the bar and taking even more of the time she already had would be abusive.

She called Belle instead, and when the younger woman came into the office she spoke to her in her business like tone. "If I do this and it turns in my favor, you won't be my secretary, you'll be going as my assistant."

"What? I can't… I don't even, what about Sidney?"

"Those are my terms, if it isn't that way then don't even bother putting my name up."

Opening her eyes as wide as she could, Belle chuckled. "Thanks, I promise I won't disappoint and…"

"Don't be mistaken, this is not a favor. But if you are making me do this you may as well suffer along with me and believe me, it won't be pleasant. Especially if Gold is set on getting this seat."

"I can assure you that he won't."

Taking in a deep breath and wondering why she was doing this when she has been set up on stepping down, she ran a hand through her hair. "I hope you are right, I really do…"

TBC


	27. Chapter 27

Mingle…

When Robin said the word he has made it sound so simple that for a minute she even believe it would be so. The easy going manner in which he said it and the complacent smile on his face as he told her were pretty much convincing so yes, she believed it.

There was no reason to think otherwise anyway, after all what she was doing wasn't something she hasn't done before and well… she has always done just fine.

Public events in Storybrooke were really not the norm, but it was something that came with the job and after two terms as Mayor she has come to learn the trade well and even though uncomfortable, they were manageable.

As a rule, she just had to come in, show her face, in some occasions make a speech or something and that was it. She usually didn't have to mingle and even when in some extreme cases she would actually had to go around and socialize, she would maximums spend ten to twenty minutes doing so and that was it, off she went.

For two terms, that was how she has done it and it has worked for her; for eight years she has managed just fine… so she really had no idea why she was struggling so hard to do it now.

Taking in a deep breath and chewing the inside of her cheek almost compulsively, Regina did her best to keep the smile on her face as her fingers tapped impatiently against the underside of the counter in front of her, and as she listened to the person sitting with her keep talking on and on about this and that, she decided that it was hard to do it now because she wasn't exactly doing it as part of her job.

Sure, Belle and her ridiculous idea that the residents of Storybrooke wanted to get to see a little more of her was one of the factors why she has agreed to do this, but if she had to be completely honest she had to admit she was for the most part doing it for Robin.

It was the big opening of his bar and she wanted to be there to support him in his endeavors, easy as that. Now, that she happened to be running for another term to serve as Mayor in the town where said bar happened to be in was just a coincidence Belle urged her to exploit.

'_Just go there and let people see you and talk to you."_

Those has been the woman words and much to her chagrin, Robin totally agreed with her. In words it was easy, but now that she was there she couldn't wait for the whole thing to be over.

The place was packed, thing that was great for Robin, but the antisocial in her was internally cringing. It seemed as if all town was there and all of them had a word to say to her.

Some just came in to say hi, others would just tell her how happy they were that she was running for another term and then there were the ones who actually tried to engage her into some small talk.

Those were the ones that were making her uncomfortable and she was sure her blood pressure was going to skyrocket if they kept going at her like a pack of starved wolves after their prey.

Sure, she humored them by listening and even replying in kind, but God it was driving her insane already.

"Regina, sorry to interrupt but um, can I have a word with you? It's kind of important."

Snapping out of her thoughts, the brunette woman tilted her head to the side and saw no other than Mary Margaret looking at her with a big apologetic smile on her face. Her husband was somewhere behind her but as if he knew he wasn't needed for the moment he said something about getting them something to drink and then he sneaked away and disappeared into the crowd.

"Sure." She said, trying to hide the tiredness in her voice. "Excuse me, Dr. Hopper." She said to Archie, the man who has been talking nonstop to her before getting to her feet.

Mary Margaret made a motion with her head that indicated Regina to follow her and she did. They only stopped when they were by one of the tall bar stools near the small stage where Ariel was singing.

They sat there as David appeared out of nowhere with two glasses of what appeared to be wine. He placed one in front of each woman and before Regina could say that she wasn't drinking off he went.

"I'm sorry I basically kidnapped you back there, but by the look on your face you looked like you needed rescue… and a drink."

Unable to help it, a snort escaped her. "Was it that obvious?"

Shrugging and taking the glass so she could drink on the wine, the teacher smiled. "I know how Archie can get a little carried away when talking so I guessed you needed a breather. And don't worry, I won't overwhelm you with work talk… at least not here, I already got my appointment scheduled so I can hoard you on office hours of course."

Regina arched an eyebrow. "Well thank you." She guessed.

"There's no need to. Being a teacher I know how it feels to have people go to me at any given hour and at any place they find me to talk about their kids or asking about homework or just demanding to know why I graded them certain way and well, as much as I love my job it can get annoying. Especially if I'm just trying to wind down. Can't imagine how bad it gets when you are Mayor."

Humming, the corner of Regina's lips curved into half a smile. "It can get… overwhelming." Especially as of late. Now she didn't know if it was because of what Belle said about how people were starting to relate more to her, but the truth was that they definitely felt more comfortable going to her.

That was something that rarely happened before to her outside her office walls and she was just getting the hang out of this new development.

"The joys of public service." Taking another sip of wine, Mary Margaret smiled. "So… this is a nice place that Robin got here."

Sighing and taking a look around, Regina nodded. "It is, I have to admit that it came out better than what I had in mind at first."

And really, even when it has taken him at least three weeks to get everything in order to open up as he wanted everything to be, the truth was that the place turned up amazingly. Yes, it was a bar but it wasn't the typical get your booze, get drunk and get out bar, but he has made it into something nice for people to go and enjoy themselves.

It had music, live that night of course, on others it was schedule to be karaoke night and overall it was a nice spot for people to hang out. If hanging out was their thing of course.

"He's a good man, the kind you don't find piled up in every corner. So you know, I'm glad you two ended up together."

Scoffing, Regina wrapped her hand around the glass of wine. She didn't took it though and just felt the coolness of it. It was strange… but it was just that she has never engaged into a talk with the woman that didn't involve work, let it be hers as Mayor or the woman's as a teacher so this conversation was also unknown territory for her.

Maybe that was exactly the reason why she has been feeling so out of her element for the last few weeks, because since the news about Robin and her being together came out she felt as if her private life, the one she has been trying to keep out of the public eye for so long was now in display and she simply didn't know how to deal with it.

Most of the time she just forced out a smile or thanked people when they would send her way good wishes, trying to wrap into her brain why was it that they cared so much.

Of course, she couldn't complain about how people seemed to accept them as a couple as oppose as asking her head in a platter for dating her former auditor as Gold has clearly intended they would do, but if she had to be honest she had to admit that she felt overexposed and feeling like that made her feel vulnerable.

"I'm glad too." She said at last, never imagining that saying that out loud to someone outside her circle would feel so… liberating.

Smiling, the other woman rose her glass as if to make a toast, but before she could do such a thing, Ariel, who happened to just finish singing her song called for everyone's attention.

That right there made Regina focus on the stage instead. It was a good excuse to keep herself from having to explain why was it that she wasn't drinking her wine.

Sure, as time passed by she wouldn't have to tell people because it would be obvious, but for now she decided to keep the news to herself and those close to her.

At least until she would reach her second trimester.

That was why that night she has chosen to wear a somehow loose dress, because even though she wasn't showing just yet, she was starting to feel her clothes a bit more tight around her waistline.

What she was wearing that night prevented that discomfort, and since Robin has seemed to love it on her she decided to go with it. It was comfortable, it went along with the occasion and as her position as Mayor and like she stated, Robin has liked it very much.

"I'm going to wrap this up with one more song, and if you've heard me perform before, which all of you had because I know you, you'll be aware that singing it without my favorite guitarist is just not quite the same so why don't you help me bring Robin here."

Arching an eyebrow and trying to keep her features from looking anything that wasn't pleasant, Regina leaned forward and rested her elbows over the small table. Upon Ariel's request, people started calling for Robin and she just watched as he appeared after a minute or two.

He has been at the back, and as he stepped out he seemed a bit surprised to be called upon. He went along anyway and once reaching the stage Ariel received him with a guitar.

They talked some between themselves, and when he sat down and brought the microphone closer, Regina knew he was going to do it.

It made her smile despite herself. Seeing him there reminded her of that first real talk they had when they were in the Island, the one where he said how he used to go at Granny's after hours and just play his guitar for Ariel to sing. So now, knowing that he was doing it in his own place same like a nice turn of events.

It was with that thought in mind that she sat there and just watched him, barely listening to what Ariel was singing and just focusing on Robin; on the sound coming from the instrument, on how his fingers skillfully moved against the strings of the guitar and the fully concentrated look on his face as he played.

Sure, she has seen him play already. Back when she and Henry were staying at his house, the boy had spotted a few guitars Robin had around and when he asked if he played the man made a demonstration.

But it was an entirely different thing watching him up there that what it has been on his living room.

By the time the song was done she was entranced.

"Thank you, thank you very much. Like our good host likes to say, that was quite lovely." Ariel began to say into the microphone to the cheers of the audience. "Now I'll leave you with the man himself so he can say a few words."

"Thanks Ariel." Licking his lips, Robin leaned a bit forward. He had his patented dimple smile gracing his features and when he spotted her, he winked her way. "I definitely didn't came prepared to play but there it was. Anyhow, I want to thank you all once again for joining us in this special night-"

"Sing something for us!" Someone yelled from the crowd and Robin laughed.

"No I'm not going to sing tonight. I do however want to take a moment of your time to share something with you. As you already know, a couple of months ago I got into quite an unexpected and somehow pesky adventure when the plane I was in happened to crash down. I survived obviously, and most of you already know the tale. What you probably don't know, and she will probably kill me after I'm done talking, is that it was because of what happened with that plane that I ended up finding what I honestly consider today to be the love of my life."

"What the hell is he doing?" Regina asked through clenched teeth to no one in particular as the people around her started cheering and yes, looking at her.

Mary Margaret was even applauding and widening her eyes, Regina tried to send a warning look towards Robin to indicate him that what he said was enough. But he wasn't looking at her, probably on purpose.

"Now if you've been following the current events all through town you know I'm talking about our lovely Mayor Regina Mills… oh yes, and you don't have to tell me, I know she must be staring daggers at me right now, but that won't stop me from saying this."

"Oh my God." She mumbled, trying hard not to go and kill him. She did however shake her head in disbelief and pressed a few fingers to her mouth.

"I won't be long with this," He started to say, this time turning and looking to her. "I'll just say that it was through some rough times that I ended up finding the best thing of my life, and that if I would have to do it all over again and get the same results, I would just to be able to have you by my side."

"Why don't you help me now in getting the lucky lady up here?" Ariel asked through the microphone and Regina suddenly wanted to kill her too. She couldn't believe they were doing this to her.

But by then all eyes were on her and she was being urged to go up the stage, meaning that she couldn't kill either one of them just for the sake of it.

Taking in a deep breath, Regina bit her lips and got to her feet, grabbing her dress not to stumble with it as she made it towards the spot where he was waiting for her.

"Well Robin, I have to say it, she _is_ lovely." Ariel said to some cheers that definitely made Regina clutch the fabric of her dress even tighter.

"I am going to kill you." She hissed to Robin once she was near him, but instead of minding her words he moved the microphone off his face and focused the intensity of his clear blue eyes on hers. He was smiling, thing that indicated her that he knew very well that she wasn't going to do such a thing as killing him.

"Regina,"

He began to say while reaching for her hand. Thankfully for her, what he was saying wasn't something to be heard all through the place and that made her relax a little.

"I think you already know how much I feel for you so I won't go over that. I do however feel like I need to point out this. You… came into my life when I least expected you to arrive and then you went to become a huge part of it. You are that thought in the back of my mind when I go to sleep and then the first thing I want to see when waking up."

Regina blinked a couple of times, the background noise just a blur in her mind.

"I know our path has been more than a bit rocky, but… I think we've managed to always come out on top, together." Before going on he reached for his pocket and took out a small box. He didn't have to open it for her to know what was in there or to know what his intentions were.

But when he did open she couldn't help but to feel her breathing get stuck in the back if her throat.

"You, through thin and thick are everything I could ever hope for so if you will have me I would be thrilled to spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the way you make me feel and fighting to stay like this, on top of anything and anyone who wants to tear us or our family apart. So, Regina would you give me the honor of being my wife?"

Doing her best to ignore the people in the back of the stage. She scoffed. "I can't believe you are doing this here."

"Is that a yes? Because that's the only answer I want to hear right now."

Sucking in a breath and focusing on him and only him, Regina bit on her lips.

For the past three weeks, she could say that they have been thriving. Yes, she and Henry moved back to her now fixed home and with the preparations of his bar opening and her new candidature for the upcoming election, they hadn't been spending all the time she would have wanted together.

But in the moments they had they would make the best of it and like she pointed out, they have been doing better with each passing day. But never in a million years would she have imagined that he was going to propose.

Let alone in a bar full of people.

Yet, as much as her mind wanted her to smack him for doing such a spectacle, her heart already knew the answer so nodding, she smiled. "Yes."

Putting the ring on and then kissing her, Robin wrapped his arms around her frame.

"For those who missed it our man here just proposed and she said yes!"

Scoffing and hiding her face into his neck as the place erupted in cheers, she opened her eyes. "Just so you know, I'm still going to kill you."

Giving her another quick kiss, he smiled and went to the microphone. "Because we are celebrating, next round is on the house." With that said and grabbing her by the hand, he guided her down.

It took a while for them to reach the back of the locale because they were being stopped all around to congratulate them. It was mentally exhausting and it was only when they finally made it back so that they could be alone that she was finally able to breathe.

"I love you." He said while once again wrapping his arms around her. He did that before searching for her lips and kissing her long and deep.

She humored him, kissing him back and even wrapping her arms around his neck when he lifted her up against him. It was definitely a better feeling that killing him so she laughed against his mouth. "You are crazy."

"Only for you." He kissed her mouth.

Kissing him back she hummed. "And you are corny as hell."

"And you love me for it."

Pulling back so that she could look at him, she shrugged. "Yeah I do."

"If we go right now, no one will notice. You won't believe how bad I want to take you home, take that dress off and have you all for myself, all night."

"Sounds promising. But this is your big night so you shouldn't cut it short for something this is going to happen later on anyway."

"It will?" He asked half amused half intrigued because going home together wasn't something they have discussed. Not that it really needed to be discussed, because even if they have been staying in their respective houses as of late, finding moments to get quality time alone was something they have managed perfectly fine.

That night, with Henry off with Emma and Roland having a sitter, it wasn't going to be the exception.

"Yes."

"Fair enough, so let's do this. Go home, get a nice relaxing bath while I try to sneak out of here as soon as I'm able to. I'll say about one hour tops, how about that?"

Instead of replying immediately, Regina leaned into him and kissed him again, her tongue searching for his as her face angled to the right.

He complied to her silent request and even went ahead and grabbed her behind through the silky fabric of her dress, pressing her to him.

"I'll be waiting."

Chuckling, he put her down. "I'll try to be there as quick as I can."

"Okay." She said and when he was gone she lifted her left hand in the air to take a good look at the ring in her finger. It was almost hypnotic to see it and before she could help it, a smiled formed in her lips.

"Madame Mayor."

As soon as the words were spoken, Regina startled and she immediately swirled on her heels to face the owner of the voice.

Now she knew who it was before seeing him, but still, she faced him, half her mind wondering what he was doing there and the other one how much of her interaction with Robin he has seen.

"For the love of God, Sidney, you can't creep on me like that."

Blinking a few times, the man stepped out of the darkness, his face a stoic mask that gave up nothing and his posture rigid. "Didn't mean to scare you."

Smoothing the skirt of her dress just for the sake of doing something, Regina cleared her throat. "What are you doing here?"

She finally asked and her tone wasn't exactly friendly. He was somewhere where general public were not allowed to and she doubted Robin had given him access there.

"I wanted a word with you."

Blowing out a breath because she knew the man wasn't happy with Belle being appointed to her assistant instead of being him, she kind of knew the kind of talk he wanted them to have.

They already had said talk during office hours and it lead them nowhere. He clearly had a different vision about where her career should be going and she had others so the best thing to be done was part ways with him as assistant.

Besides it wasn't like she was getting rid of him, she had offered another position among her staff and even though he clearly didn't like it, he accepted it.

"Now it's not a good time. We'll talk on Monday."

"I think you are making a mistake… regarding Mr. Locksley. I tried to step back at first but it clearly got out of control."

Doing a double take, Regina snarled her lips while sending him a disdainful glance. Was he being serious? "And I think you are making a mistake thinking this is something that concerns you."

Taking a step forward, he sighed. "It does concern me. I can't let you make this mistake of… marrying him."

Standing her ground even though she felt like taking a step back, she lifted her chin. There was a wild glint in his eye she has never seen before but she still, she remained there, seemingly undisturbed.

Was he drunk? Who knew, but whatever it was she didn't want to stay there and find out. "Get out of here, Sidney, you're clearly not yourself today."

With that said, she turned her back to him and started to walk away. Her intention making Robin send someone in there to take him out if he didn't want to go on his own.

But before she could even reach the door, she heard him speak. "I'm sorry." Then, before she could even register what was going on a sharp pain took over the back of her head and not giving her time to do anything, she blacked out…

TBC


	28. Chapter 28

The first thought to cross Regina's mind when she first opened her eyes was that her head was pounding.

It was really bad, the pain strong enough to make her wince and as she dwelled in her agony she couldn't help but to wonder if the reason why she was hurting so much was because her brain had somehow swollen and her skull wasn't providing the space it needed to grow.

That was exactly as she felt and really, what was her brain if not insistent? It needed the space so it beat unmercifully against the reduced space, menacing to crack her head open and spill all over.

For a wild moment of blind irrationality she was afraid for her brain, so wanting to act before it was too late she tried to place both hands over her head; meaning with that act to prevent a disaster.

The only problem was that she failed in her attempt as her hands only came up half the way up, stopping abruptly before they could lift pass her shoulders.

Deeming it odd, the mother to be blinked her eyes open, the soft chocolate of her orbs finding her vision to be fuzzy and unfocused. The motion also sent a new bolt of pain right into her skull and she had to close her eyes again, waiting until the pain started to fade away into a dull throb.

But that throb was still bad, it felt as if there was someone behind her using her head as a personal tambourine, beating in a slow but steady pace…

Disoriented and in pain, Regina sucked in a deep breath. She wasn't sure about what was happening but she was well aware that she needed to move. That was why she once again put all her might into lifting her arms. But just like before they stopped midway before they were yanked back.

She grunted in frustration and her head rolled to the side, feeling like it was too heavy for her to hold up. That only added to her list of nuisances, a killer headache, numb arms, sore throat… confusion.

The last one was the most prevailing one because she clearly had no idea about what was happening to her, that was why she decided to put all her efforts into making her mind function accordingly.

Now, keeping her eyes shut, the Mayor forced her mind to go back to the last thing she could remember and all she could come up with was how she has been at Robin's bar on his opening night. Up until there all was clear, but then after having the man propose to her right in the middle of it all, she has gone with him to the office area and that's when things started to get a little blurry.

Yes, she knew that back there they had kissed some and after agreeing to meet later that night he left. That was when Sidney came in, creeping on her and acting weird and then… nothing.

That was a far as she could remember.

Swallowing on dry, she opened her eyes again and even when it hurt to do so she forced them to stay open. She needed to know where she was and most importantly, how did she got there.

It was that way how through heavy lidded eyes that she spied before her a poorly lit room that would have been bare if it wasn't for a big wooden table standing alone in the middle of the open area. It looked huge in the empty space and for a few minutes she just stared at the simplicity of it; it was only when the room stopped moving in circles that she began to scan the room thoroughly.

There were no windows that she could see and when she tried to move her head to the side to look for the door she couldn't move it, it hurt too much.

"You finally woke up, I was starting to get worried. How is your head feeling?"

At the sound of that familiar voice, Regina's head jerked up. There was pain in the motion but it was secondary to recognition. She knew who that was, the one who just spoke...

Squinting her eyes, she cleared her throat, her vision taking in the form of a silhouette standing in a corner. She hadn't seen him until now and she deduced that she has missed him because he was standing in the shadows, his face a dark mask hidden in obscurity.

But she didn't need to see him to know who he was. The question was what the hell was going on?

"What is this?" She asked, her tone too authoritarian even though she was feeling groggy. She tried to move her hands once more but when she couldn't, she just had to look down to see what was it that was restricting her movements.

That was when she realized that both of her hands were tied to a rope that disappeared somewhere behind her. She knew that couldn't be good like at all and her confusion started to turn into apprehension.

Not that she was going to show the man the uncertainty in her, so with a calm that she had to force upon herself she yanked in slow motion at the ropes.

Nothing happened, so she looked once more to him, realizing maybe for the first time since waking up that she was sitting in the floor with her back resting against a cold wall while Sidney was standing, his towering presence giving the appearance of being bigger than what he really was.

"I put some ice earlier on to help with the swelling. Would have given you some aspiring as well but you were completely passed out."

"Untie me." She said, her tone coming off as too demanding to her ears.

"And why… should I do that, Regina?" The man asked, his tone coming off as eerie and detached as he took three steps out of the corner to stand under the yellow flickering light bulb hanging from the ceiling. "So that you can walk out and go back to him? No, that can't happen."

Regina grinded her teeth and clenched her jaw. She didn't like that he was taking the liberty of calling her by her given name and she didn't like that he had her tied up to a wall.

"What? You will not even try do deny it?"

More confused than before, Regina blinked a few times as if to make sense out of what he was saying and yes, trying to think of a way out of the situation. But she came up blank.

Did the man kidnap her? If so why… and how long has she been out?

Looking down, she noticed that she was still wearing the dress she had at the bar. The navy blue of the long skirt contrasting against the pearl white of the upper part. She couldn't however feel her shoes on and she realized that she was barefoot.

"What is going on?"

"What's going on…" He repeated her words in a hiss, crouching down at her side so that they could be at the same height. "Is that I needed to take you out of the surroundings you were trapped in so that you could get some of your senses back."

Not grasping his meaning just yet, Regina blinked rapidly. Sure, it may be that she couldn't fully comprehended his intentions, but she was well aware that there was something very wrong going on there and she didn't like it.

Sidney was obviously out of it and being tied up, she was basically at his mercy.

"Untie me so we can talk this like civilized people." As she said that, she couldn't help but to notice that he was lurking too close, closer than what he has ever been in all the years she has know him and that his eyes were dancing on her face. It was as if he didn't know where to look at her so he was trying to look at everything at once.

"I can't, not until I know you will do what you need to do."

Keeping her tone even no matter how uncomfortable she felt, Regina set her eyes on his. "And what's that?"

Dodging her eyes, he reached down to her left hand and touched the engagement ring Robin just gave her. It made her feel like yanking her hand back, but she didn't.

"You need to get rid of Mr. Locksley so that everything can go back to the way it was before."

Scoffing in disbelief, Regina snarled her lips as she finally started to get the whole picture. She has been hearing this from Robin for a long time now, but she didn't quite believe it; but apparently her former assistant sure had it for her.

That right there made her put one and one together and she suddenly remembered how he intercepted her after Robin left and started acting weird. Then there was the sharp pain to the back of her head and that could only mean that he had hit her to knock her out and take her…

"You are out of your mind." She hissed. And he was, because what he was doing was not only insane, but it was also a felony.

"Am I?" He laughed, lifting a hand as if to touch her face.

Regina saw it coming and even though it sent an excruciating bolt of pain into her skull, she mover her face away from his touch.

He ended up touching her hair, taking a strand of her locks and swirling in between his fingers.

"Maybe I am, but you are the only one to blame for that. Regina I… I've have devoted my life for you, doing what it pleased you… not asking any question or waiting for anything other than a little bit of recognition. I never got it, and still for eight years I stuck by you."

Biting her tongue not to tell him that as her assistant that was what she paid him for, she clenched her jaw and said nothing.

"And all for what, so that this… good for nothing of Locksley could come out of nowhere doing what you never gave me the chance to do?" He hissed. "He doesn't deserve you. You are a Queen and he's… nothing."

Furrowing her brows, Regina looked away. Yes, the man was out of it so she needed to be careful with her words.

"Yet even when I knew he was undeserving of you I still had to watch him steal you away… day by day. Until I saw you two tonight, after that circus he made… and I can't tell you how sick to my stomach it made to see him kiss you and, and touch you. I've never touch you. Not the way I saw him touch you."

"And you never will." Lifting her chin up, she spat. True, that was definitely not how she needed to play her cards and she knew it. But it was what it was and after listening to his nonsense she didn't think her words through.

Leaning forward, Sidney took a handful of her hair and sniffed at it. "Maybe…" He whispered, moving his hand down to her face so he could touch her lips. The contact made her recoil, especially when he forced his thumb into her mouth to touch the inside of her lips. "Maybe not; but neither will he. Not anymore that is because as of today he will not keep denigrating you." With that said he licked his thumb before getting to his feet and walking away, leaving Regina both disgusted and confused.

For the longest of times she was left there. She was pretty much sure that she even dozed off at times, but she couldn't tell for sure because the notions of time and space were all distorted in her head.

She didn't know where she was and she had no idea for how long she has been there. All she knew was that her body was stiff and cramping all over from sitting in the same position for so long and that she was feeling thirsty.

That was without mentioning the fact that she needed to use the bathroom really bad. She wasn't sure if her bladder would hold on any longer and she didn't want to disgrace herself, that was why she swallowed her pride and called for him.

"Sidney."

"Did you call for me?" He asked at once, walking into the room almost as if he has been waiting outside.

Swallowing on dry and trying her best not to reply in anger, she just nodded. "I need to use the bathroom."

At the request the wild glint in his eye diminished a little and he hurried to her. He didn't say anything more though, he just went ahead and after apparently untying the rope from wherever it was that was holding her prisoner he grabbed her elbows and helped her lift from the floor.

Now, in any other occasion she would have pushed him away saying that she didn't need any help, but the truth was that she kind of did. Her legs were numb, she felt weak and once up she realized that she was a bit dizzy. Meaning that she couldn't go in an ego trip.

"Is this really necessary?" She asked in her most neutral tone while raising her still bounded hands to him.

"I'm afraid it is. Come on, bathroom is just outside the door." Motioning her to walk first, he showed her the way.

Regina walked with all the dignity she could spare while her eyes scanned her surroundings, low key trying to find a way out. But she couldn't see much, because just as he said the bathroom was right outside the room she has been into and that provided very little time to look around.

But even when an escape seemed hard to plan at the time, at least she was given privacy to use the bathroom and when she was done she was even able to take a look at her reflection through a dirty but still useful mirror.

Through it she saw that she was looking way too pale, that her eyes were glassy and that the make-up she has been wearing for the bar's inauguration was already fading.

Now, with her hands tied and the long rope hanging, it was a little uncomfortable to go with her business, but she managed and was even able to splash water to her face and yes, she drank from the tap water too. It helped appease her thirst while filling up the void in her stomach.

Once done she opened the door to find Sidney waiting by. He was once again creeping on her and she tried to think if he has always been like that.

Yes, he had always gone out of his way to do whatever it was that she needed and in more than one occasion he had startled her by being closer than what she though him to be, but she always saw it as the man just doing what she paid him to do.

Never would she have imagined that he was going to loose it over her dating Robin. Because apparently that was all it was, as Sidney hadn't mentioned anything about Belle occupying his place.

"Do you really think that after you pulled this things can go back to the way they were before?"

Blinking a couple of times, she saw him grab the rope around her wrists and then he guided her back into the room. "Sit."

"No." She said defiantly while taking a step back. That right there made the man snort and run a hand through his head.

"I don't want to use force against you."

"You will have to, if you mean to tie me down there again." Hoping that he wouldn't because she didn't want to put her baby in any kind of harms way, the brunette set her jaw firm.

"Madame Mayor…"

"What do you mean to do with me here?" And seriously, did he really think he could keep her there forever?

She wasn't sure how much time has gone by since she was taken but she was pretty sure that it has been enough so that Robin could notice her disappearance, meaning that chances they were already looking for her were pretty high and sure, that they already had the whole thing pinned to Sidney.

She was sure of that. Because more than her mere absence there were the small details, like the fact that when the man took her she didn't have her things with her. Her purse along with her keys were still at Robin's desk so it was going to be obvious that she never made it out of the building on her own free will.

Once Robin noticed that he would check the security cameras and that was it, Sidney was going to discovered as the one who took her.

And that meant that sooner rather than later her captivity was going to end. She was sure that her former assistant knew that and she didn't want him doing even more stupid things out of desperation. That was why she wanted to know what he meant to do to her in the meanwhile.

"I just want to take care of you, like I've always done. I don't aspire for more."

"You know the longer you keep me here the worse it will be for you when they find me? Because they will find me."

"Do you really think he will come rescuing you again, is that how much blind faith you have in him?" This time, Sidney said what he said raising his voice.

It made Regina take an involuntary step back.

"I'm tired of always listening to how he saved you during your accident and how he keeps being praised for something I would have done way better."

Once that was said, he clenched his hands into fists, making Regina understand that trying to reason with him was futile. He was too far gone.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you and everyone else but he won't ever come. Who knows, maybe I'll drive into town and join the search team so that I can make sure a little accident happens to him. The woods are dangerous and full of perils after all and it could be he won't run the same luck he did in the island."

Opening her mouth to tell him that he couldn't make it into town without being taken down as a suspect but then clasping it shut, she scoffed.

Maybe reasoning wouldn't work, but how about if she pushed him to the edge?

"You won't do that. You don't have what it takes to go against Robin." Looking him head to toe and snarling her lips, she even laughed dryly. "Like it or not you will never be half the man he is and that's why you are so salty about him, because you know you will always be the little man who needs to take by force what he wants. What he couldn't get on his own merit."

"Shut… up."

"What, hit a soft spot? If it hurts it's because it's true. You are nothing, Sidney. You will never be."

Now, was it dangerous what she was doing? Probably, and it could definitely backfire on her. He could snap and do God only knew what to her or he could go and actually hurt Robin.

There was that and there was also the possibility of him going out never to come back and that could be dangerous too because what if they never found her?

"We'll see about that." Before Regina could keep working him up, he walked out the door and locked her inside.

Grunting and walking to the door, she tried to open it in vain. That she didn't manage to do anything was frustrating so she ended up kicking the door with all the force she had in her.

True, when he left he didn't tie her up and that provided a false illusion of freedom as she could move at will through the room, but she was still a prisoner because yes, her wrist her still bound and she couldn't get out.

After what felt like forever, she fell asleep on top of the table, cold and hungry. She dreamt of Henry once again alone and of Robin looking for her, and when she woke up she was shaking, still trapped and hopeless.

She also woke up feeling pain through every inch of her body and when Sidney at some point came into the room offering something to eat by putting a plate by her side as she lay down she pushed it off the table, making the food spill and the plate to shatter.

It was an impulsive reaction she shouldn't have done because she needed to eat, but it was just that she was so mad to see him back into the picture when she has been hoping for him to be captured already.

He left after that, but when he came hours later with more food she had to comply and eat. She did it for the baby and because she couldn't just lay there and wait for a miracle to happen.

"Is it true that you are with child?" He asked as he watched her eat and suddenly feeling a strange wave of fear she hadn't felt before run through her she shivered.

If he knew that it was because he probably heard it by going back into town and if he was able to do so without being captured it meant they still hadn't pinned her disappearance on him.

"I will take care of you and the baby."

"I'm going to be sick." She said, dropping the food and placing the back of her hand to her mouth.

Just as he has done before, he rushed to help her into the bathroom and exactly as the previous time he left her to go on with her business in private.

Once alone, she ran a shaky hand through her hair as her mind swirled over what was happening and the only conclusion in her disturbed psyche was that she needed to do something instead of just staying there waiting to be rescued.

After using the facilities, she scanned the small space, looking for something that would help her. She didn't find anything completely useful so deciding to just go with the flow she started to take out the lid of the toilet seat. Once loose she took it and without thinking it too much she opened the door and hit him as hard as she was able to.

The impact made him stumble backwards as his hand went the open wound she inflicted on his temple. She hit him a second time, and when he fell she ran past him and went to immediately find a way out.

Luckily, she found it. Sidney hadn't secured the exit to the small cabin and so she just pushed herself through it.

Once outside she looked around. Nightfall was creeping on them, but it was clear that they were in the woods as he had implied earlier on which meant that she was still within the jurisdiction of Storybrooke. Meaning that even though she was far from town per see, the distance to be traveled wasn't something that couldn't be achieved on foot.

It would take a while and she didn't know if she could manage in her weak condition, but trying was better than staying inside waiting.

"Regina!"

Listening to her captor's voice made her shake out of her trance and wanting to do more than just waiting to be rescued, she began to run…


	29. Chapter 29

There was an undeniable terrifying aspect in the act of running through the darkness with your back to the unknown. That was one of most prevalent thoughts taking over Regina's mind as she step by step moved through the never-ending foliage of the woods.

In a way she knew feeling like that was irrational, after all it wasn't like she didn't know what was giving her pursuit, it was Sidney and she was very much aware of why he was after her and what to expect if he caught up.

He wanted to capture her again and she was sure he was going to do everything in his power to get her, because that was how out of his mind he was.

So yes, maybe it wasn't exactly the unknown what really had her in her toes and it was the thought of the man himself, because who knew what would he do now that she crossed him and even managed to make a run out of captivity.

He was probably furious, thing that didn't add well to her predicament because a man that was both mad crazy and furious only made for a very volatile situation, one where she unfortunately didn't have the upper hand.

She was still bound, lost, exhausted and more than a little alarmed, because no matter how fast she ran she could feel him getting closer and closer.

For the good part of her initial run she has even heard him, shouting her name at the top of his lungs as the spine-chilling ruffling sound of his steps as he ran after her swallowed every other sound around her.

That was how it has been, but now as it happened she could no longer hear him and instead of feeling relieved, a deep sense of doom started to settle in, eating her inside out and thus making her feel scared out of her mind.

Fear… it was a feeling that she hated. In a way it has always irked her to no end to feel it settling into the pit of her stomach and then spread like a malign tumor all through her body; but in that moment, she was almost welcoming the overbearing experience because it was the only thing that was keeping her moving.

It was simple, the fear of being caught again by the madman was making her function on pure adrenaline; she was moving by pure instinct because of it so she could do nothing more other than embrace it and use it for her advantage.

For all she knew, Sidney could still be right on her heels, closing on the distance she has imposed on them and ready to just take her one more time. And really, who knew what intentions he had now, meaning that she couldn't just stop just because she couldn't hear him

So she kept running, she ran until her heart was pounding so hard inside her chest that she was sure the vital organ was going to explode at any given time. She could almost feel it happening, because as it was the insane force of its beating was almost making it slam against her ribcage.

"Regina!"

As soon as she heard him calling for her once more, Regina halted right on her tracks. She couldn't exactly tell, but the voice felt too close and she didn't want to risk it.

She has been running without a clear sense of direction for a while now and yes, being totally careless, so maybe it was time to try and be a bit more smarter than him.

If she kept going, he was going to find her by the loud sound of her movements and that would be it; but if she just remained still he might loose track of her. It was getting darker by the minute so it would be possible for her to remain unnoticed.

With that in mind, the brunette pressed her back to a tree and closed her eyes. Her heart was still frantically beating, her breathing was too ragged and the abrupt cease of her running was making her legs feel like rubber.

Then there was the sharp pain at her side and the chilly breeze of the evening swirling around her heated by adrenaline frame and that was it, she was feeling lighthearted and suddenly nauseous.

Trying to ease her breathing and doing her best to convince her mind that the pain she was feeling was a simple side stich provoked by the run and not because there was something wrong with her baby, Regina lifted her hands and pressed them to her mouth.

She was still bounded, thing that was limiting her movements, but that one she could do just fine.

"Don't make this more difficult than what is has to be… Regina."

Swallowing on dry, she tried to force all her senses to be on alert, especially her hearing. She needed to find out where he was and how close. But it was hard, because the beating of her heart was just deafening.

"I don't want to hurt you and I don't want to drag you back, but I will if you force me to it."

He was closing in, his voice was clearer now and even when she still wasn't sure where he was she just knew he was near.

The realization of his impending closeness was disheartening, after all she was sure that she didn't have it in her to keep running. Her limbs wouldn't allow it and second, she didn't want her efforts to be dangerous for her baby.

As it was she was afraid she forced herself more that what she should have and she didn't want to end up regretting it. That only meant that if he found her, he was definitely going to take back into the cabin without much resistance and once there anything could happen.

That was something she didn't want.

"Regina… don't play hard to get!"

By then, Sidney was almost on her heels, she could even feel it in the way her skin started to crawl at the sound of his voice. And not only that, but he was also shouting, a clear indication that he lost all pretense of keeping it quiet and that could turn out to be dangerous.

After all what could stop a man that knew he had nothing to lose?

Maybe she pushed to hard when she tried to run off. But not wanting to make her escape be in vain, she put her hands down and grabbed a handful of her dress. Once it was between her fingers she brought it to her mouth and bit into it. It took a lot of effort but when the fabric ripped she finished it off by tearing a good sized piece of it and letting it fall to the soiled ground.

If anyone back in Storybrooke happened to come searching into the woods they may find it and follow her tracks; that was of course if Sidney ended up finding her.

"Regina?"

Listening to her name, but this time being called by another voice, a much farther away one made Regina feel a new surge of hope and she had to bite hard on her tongue not to reply to the call.

She did however shift where she stood, thing that apparently caught the attention of Sidney because next thing she knew the distinct sound of someone running over the fall leaves covering the ground was heard all over.

It made her react without thinking and she once again started running. The only prevailing thought in her mind that she couldn't let him take her.

Not that her efforts were of much use because before she could even move ten meters he got to her.

"Get your hands off of me." She grunted when he grabbed her from behind and lifted her off. "Let go!"

Instead of replying he covered her mouth with a hand and tried to shush her, preventing that way that she could call for help. He was able to carry her like that for a little while, but then she was able to she bit as hard as she could into his palm and he ended up letting go of her, pushing her into the ground in a way that she ended up on her hand and knees.

Probably in a mixture of surprise and pain, Sidney yelled, the sound reminded her that there was someone in that wood looking for her so she decided to call for help, but before she could even open her mouth he did the same move he did back at the bar and hit her head.

The only problem was that he didn't hit her hard enough to knock her out cold.

Unable to stop it, Regina yelped in pain. Whatever sense of pride she has been keeping already lost to her. Sure, he didn't hit her hard enough to knock her out but it was still a forceful impact.

It destabilized her, but even though when she felt how he was once again picking her up, she still tried to get away. It was in vain, obviously, the blow weakened her already tired demeanor and all her efforts were for nothing.

She was now dizzy on top of all the other things she has been feeling and she decided to put all her efforts in just not passing out.

"I didn't want to do this." Sidney said. On top of his voice she could faintly listen to some others and if she wasn't mistaken, she could also hear some dogs barking in the distance.

That right there made her chuckle, even when she knew she should be afraid she just went ahead and did that. Thing that made her wonder if she just had a concussion or if she just plain and simply lost it.

But it was that all of what was happening was funny… well, it would be if it wasn't so tragic. It was as if her life was on ongoing circle of unfortunate events, each one of them all linked with each other and it was… funny in an absurd kind of way.

She couldn't even remember watching a movie where the protagonist had to endure as much as she had all through her life.

"I just wanted to take care of you and make you understand."

As soon as the man said that, he took a few more steps before putting her back down. Once where he wanted her he grabbed the rope bound to her wrists and lifted her arms up.

He was tying her once more, only that this time he was doing it in the middle of the woods and apparently to the branch of a tree.

She ended up sitting on the back of her heels with both her arms uncomfortably stretched up and the pain in her head getting sharper.

It was an effort to keep her eyes open and her chin up, but she managed out of pure will. "They are going to get you." She said, looking at him dead in the eye. He was still bleeding, thing that made him look more insane that what he already was. "And I'm going to make sure you spend the rest of your life locked up."

"You don't get it. All I ever did was love you. What do I have to do to make you understand that? How can I make you see that what you are doing with that good for nothing man is throw your greatness away?"

"Screw you." Her vision was a bit unfocused, but she refused to even blink for him.

Sidney nodded, but then he just took a handkerchief out of his pocket and went to cover her mouth with it. Once in place he got to his feet and wiped the blood on his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Do you think he's out there looking for you? Because I'm pretty sure he is. He's that damn stubborn. But who knows, maybe it's time we take him out of the equation for good."

With that said, he took out of his belt a gun she hadn't seen him have and that right there put her on high alert. When he made as if to walk away she tried to call out for him.

"Sidney…" She mumbled, but with the bandanna firmly placed to keep her from talking, the sound was barely understandable. "No… wait."

"I'm going to be back, and then it will be just you and me." Once he said that he left.

Exhaling through her nose and yanking hard at her hands to see if the branch would give up, Regina started to once again feel frightened out of her mind. Not because of what could happened to her, but about what Sidney could do to Robin.

If there was indeed a search party there was a huge probability that Robin was there, and having the element of surprise Sidney could easily get him. He didn't even have to be near, he just needed to have a quick glance and that would be it.

The sole act of thinking about that was enough to make her work harder, but as much as she pulled and tried to free herself, the reality was that she just couldn't do anything. She was too weak and in no condition, so much to her frustration she could just stay there as time started to consume itself and the cold of the night started to make her shiver.

Now, she wasn't sure how long she was left there or how long he was gone, but that there was a search party there was no doubt. She could hear them just fine and that Sidney was still out there made her feel with her nerves on edge.

It was enough to keep her awake, even when a huge part of her wanted to just close her eyes and rest.

She didn't though, it took all her willpower to just be there, eyes wide open and senses on alert while getting colder and more desperate with each passing second. At least until she heard some leaves ruffling behind her and then a dog barking.

The sound made her startle, but when the dog made it to her and she was able to see him she relaxed some.

"Regina."

Now, the voice wasn't exactly the one she wanted to hear but it was a relief nonetheless, because it meant that half her nightmare was done for. And then when she heard him talk on the radio saying how he found her she was finally able to breath again.

If it wasn't because she was too worried for Robin she would have definitely give permission for her eyes to just close for a while.

"Is he around here?" The sheriff himself asked as he reached for a pocket knife, but before she could reply or before he could go down to untie her, the one voice she has been hoping to hear did come.

"Oh my God, Regina."

Her head shot up, searching for him, but he also came from behind her and she wasn't able to see him until he went around her and knelt in front of her.

He immediately went to take off the bandanna and then he grabbed her face, touching her tentatively as if to make sure she was alright.

Not having any words for the moment, Regina pressed her forehead to his as she tried to swallow down the lump in her throat. It was almost impossible so she took a step forward and kissed him, pressing her mouth almost harshly against his.

She was just so glad to see him. Glad that Sidney didn't get to him as he had clearly intended.

"Are you alright?" He asked just as Graham cut the rope so that her arms could go down. The sudden movement made her hiss in pain and as if sensing her discomfort he grabbed her arms and started massaging her sore muscles.

"He has a gun and he's out for you."

"In what direction did he go?" The one talking now was Graham and blinking rapidly as he reached for her hands to cut out the remaining rope, Regina looked at him.

He was in full Sheriff mode but she has known enough of him to know that he was pissed, probably at having to deal with such a case in his jurisdiction. He took those kind of things way too personal and well, given the history they had she was going to assume it was even more so.

"I don't… I'm not sure. But he has a gun."

"Well does he now? Because I don't think he would like to play with me." Graham said while taking out his own gun. "I'm going to do a quick search so we can get the hell out of here. Come on." After he said that he was gone.

"You're shaking." Robin pointed out, he was also sporting a unique look on his face, but his was a mixture of concern, relief and yes, suppressed anger.

"I'm cold." She said, suddenly aware that she was indeed trembling. Her muscles were also tensed up with the intensity of the cold and it wasn't until he took off the jacket he has been wearing and covered her with it that she started to feel a bit better.

Once he was done with that he hugged her, burying his nose into her hair and pulling her as close as he could.

Regina just took comfort into his arms, breathing into his scent as her body absorbed the warmness of his. It felt like a dream, because quite honestly her mind was feeling a bit off, but if it was it was the best dream.

"If I were you I would take your hands off of her, right now."

Opening her eyes and feeling how Robin let go of her and just swirled around to face the voice that just spoke, Regina gasped.

Robin was obstructing her view but she didn't have to see him to know who he was, and that he was there only made her want to snap out of her fuzziness so she could do something to help ease the situation.

"Get away from her."

"No." The father of her unborn child said. In Regina's mind defying him was a dangerous thing to do because Sidney was armed and he held no love for Robin, but apparently that was something that didn't preoccupied him.

"Get… away." With that said he fired a shot, not to Robin but to the tree behind them.

Regina cringed at that but even when she felt the muscles of Robin's back tense he didn't move an inch. "You completely lost the plot. Do you think that will make me move, you bloody twit. I won't let you hurt her anymore."

"Hurt her, and what makes you think I want to hurt her? What I want is to take care of her and make her see that you are not the man for her. You will never take care of her like I would."

"Oh is tying her up and manhandling her the way you want to do that? Just piss off Sidney."

Firing another shot, the man yelled. "Get away or next one will go directly between your eyes."

"That's the only way you'll get to her, though me so go ahead and keep adding to your list of stupid things to do today."

"Robin." Regina blew out a breath and grabbed his shirt. "Don't… just don't okay… I don't want him to shoot you."

Turning his back to the man so that he could instead face Regina, Robin grabbed her face once more. "I'm not letting him take you again."

Gasping and digging into his eyes with all the intensity still left in her, Regina shook her head no. "No, don't be stupid, he'll just shoot you and then do it anyway."

"He won't get far."

"Of course he won't, what he'll do is drop the gun, lay down on the ground and just let me arrest him. Am I right, Sidney?"

Listening to Graham once again felt like music to her ears, but before she could finally take everything to be done another shot was heard through. It was quickly followed by another one and then a yelp from Sidney.

It all happened so fast that Regina didn't actually understand what was going on until she saw Robin reach for his side with his hand. She looked down to the spot and when she saw his fingers come out bloodied she cried out.

"Oh my God, oh my God."

"It's okay… I'm okay."

"What do you mean you are okay, he shot you!"

Robin scoffed, as if just realizing what happed. "Well I'll be damned."

Making him sit down, she reached for his shirt and pulled it up, but much to her relief she saw that has been just grazed by the bullet. Yes, it was close enough to make him bleed, but nothing to be alarmed off.

Throwing her arms around his neck and closing her eyes tight shut, she sobbed. She couldn't hold it.

On his part Robin circled her with his arms as well. "It's over, you're safe now, you're safe."


	30. Chapter 30

"Hey..."

Feeling the distinct feeling of someone running a hand soothingly through her hair, Regina blinked her eyes open, her face automatically tilting towards the sound of the voice so that she could take a look at the person who just spoke.

She has been dozing off, falling in and out of a light slumber where she was neither asleep nor awake, just caught right between a limbo where she just floated between here and there…

It was a funny thing and in a way she believed that was exactly how it felt to be drugged, because even in that moment, with her eyes open and staring straight into the deep blue of Robin's stare she still felt a little bit out of it.

"How are you feeling?"

The question was asked as the tip of his fingers expertly moved though her scalp, a subtle caress that almost made her feel like closing her eyes and finally fall prey into the arms of Morpheus.

"I want to go home."

She said, simple and straight to the point because there was no point in explaining how wearily tired and mentally drained she was actually feeling.

He wouldn't understand, and even if he did, knowing that she felt like that would only make him feel more worried than what he already was and well, considering he probably wasn't feeling so great himself that was the last thing she wanted.

"Well," He began to say with half a smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes as it usually happened, thing that let her know that he was probably as tired as she was feeling.

It has been a long and completely unpleasant night after all, a wretched conclusion of almost three days of captivity for her and of a desperate search for him.

"I think I have some good news in that regard because I've just been told that now that they took out the IV and that everything seems to be alright, you can go home. You do need a lot of bed rest though."

Humming, Regina closed her eyes. She was not going to object about the bed rest because right in that moment it was exactly what she needed. To rest and to turn off her mind for a little while; but if that was what she needed then she would rather do it at home, in her own bed and ideally after a long deserving shower.

After hours of tests, a sonogram, countless analysis, a couple of IV hydration therapies and never-ending questions from the sheriff department she hasn't been able to properly clean up and it felt like she was in dire need of doing so. She was after all still in the dress she has been wearing when Sidney took her and that was soiled all the way through.

"How about you, you're good to go too?" She asked, opening her eyes again and trying to focus.

Moving his hand to her jawline so that he could run the back of his forefinger along it, Robin inhaled and then exhaled a breath. "I'm alright. You don't have to worry about me."

Regina arched an eyebrow and squinted her eyes at his words. When they arrived to the hospital, he has basically refused to be treated until a doctor saw her first and it was only after Dr. Whale assured him that she and the baby were going to be fine that he agreed to allow a nurse to check his wound.

Sure, he has only been grazed by the bullet, luckily, but that has been enough to make him bleed quite some so as a result he has needed some stitches and in her book that was nowhere near being all right.

He has been shot, no matter how superficial it has been, so even when he was making light of it she could just not stop being concerned. "Of course I have to worry."

"No you don't, the only thing that should concern that pretty head of yours is getting plenty of rest. That's all, leave all the worrying to me." He said, using his other hand to grab hers.

She let him do that, but as he laced their fingers together she scoffed. "Are we really going to argue about who should worry and who shouldn't?"

Robin snorted, shaking his head and tracing with his thumb the outline of her lips. "That's not what I meant. I'm fine, really, so I just don't want you worrying about me, not on top of everything that you are going through. Instead of doing that I want you to focus on you, on getting better yourself."

Sighing and making an effort to sit down without a new wave of dizziness hitting her full force, Regina recalled her diagnostic; mild concussion, dehydrated and blood sugar all messed up. She also had a few lacerations and bruises but overall it wasn't as bad as he was probably making it out to be.

True, with her being pregnant it wasn't as if she should take any of those things lightly, but over all and all things considered she could say that she was more or so good…

"I'm fine, you heard the doctor."

"Physically?" Pouting his lips, he shrugged. "Maybe, but what worries me is what's going on in here." He finished by tapping his finger lightly to her temples.

Chewing on her lips and lowering her eyes so that she could focus on the way her feet remained bare, Regina cleared her throat. "I'm fine. I just want to get out of here."

Sliding his hand to the back of her head, he pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead. The sensation made her close her eyes and take in a deep breath.

It was with his lips still glued to her and with her arms going around him so that she could cling to him that that he spoke to her.

"I'll get you out of here if that's what you want. I'll just ask to please don't shut me out."

"I'm not." She replied, knowing full well that she probably was. Ever since she has been rescued she has limited herself to answer in a very basic manner what anyone asked her and other than that she has said nothing. Not even to Robin who has basically been with her all the way through.

Not that she was doing it as a way to shut him out, she was just trying to hold on to her emotions as hard as she could because if she let go she wouldn't be able to control herself. That was something she didn't want to do and let alone in a public place.

"Okay then." Robin said, his tone letting her know that he wasn't totally convinced by her words. He didn't push it though, he just pulled away and turned his back to her so that he could grab the bag Belle has gotten for her.

The woman has been there earlier on during one of the many interrogations conducted by Graham's deputy and apparently by Robin's request she has gone to her house to bring her a few essentials.

That has bothered her a bit because as a rule she hated people going through her personal belongings, but now that she was seeing Robin take out of the bag a pair of shoes she had to agree that asking Belle to do that has been very convenient.

"Do you want to change now, or take a shower?"

Letting her eyes take a scrutinizing look at him, Regina shook her head. Other than changing shirts, he hadn't done much cleaning up himself either and because of that she could still see traces of dried blood on his jeans. It wouldn't be fair for her to make him wait any longer.

But before she could say so the door of the hospital room she was in opened once again and in walked Graham. She hadn't seen him since Sidney was taken away by the paramedics back in the woods, meaning that the interrogations conducted by the authorities had been done by one of his deputies.

"Heard you were giving the green light to go."

Nodding and brushing her hair behind her ear, Regina reached for the shoes Robin was handing to her to put them on. She didn't say anything though and just got ready to leave.

True, she didn't feel it because she has been dealing with Graham for the past eight years without whatever kind of thing they used to have being a problem and let alone an inconvenience, but now with Robin there she was aware that there was room for certain awkwardness to swirl around the air and she didn't want to feed it.

After all there she was, in a room with the past and the present and on top of everything that was going on she didn't need any more drama.

"Well that's good, but before you go there's one last thing we should deal with. It doesn't have to do with Sidney's case but I think it's…"

"She'll deal with that once she gets some rest. I think she's had enough for now."

Tilting her head up so that she could look at both men, Regina arched an eyebrow. Judging by the stern look on Robin's face and the way Graham was scratching behind his ear while staring at his shoes, she knew there was something they were keeping from her.

"What, what is it? Is Henry okay?" She asked while focusing on Robin. True, the father of her unborn child has assured her that he himself has made sure that her son was alright and completely unaware of what happened to her so she had relaxed a bit knowing that, but now she couldn't help but to wonder if there was something he didn't tell her.

"Henry is fine." Robin assured her.

"I believe this other matter is important, I wouldn't have come here if I though otherwise."

Folding his arms to his chest, Robin drew in a breath. "I didn't say it wasn't, just that it can wait a little longer… at least until Regina is more apt to deal with it."

"With all due respect, I think that's for Regina to decide, and the truth is that the sooner we address this the better. We can't keep her there for much longer without making a decision."

"Okay what's going on?" Regina finally asked, her eyes widening a little as she waited for a response. Whatever it was she wanted to know because the back and forth was making her feel nervous.

It couldn't be about Sidney because Graham said it wasn't, besides she already knew what happened to him. After shooting Robin he has been taken down and after the paramedics treated him, he was taken in custody. Henry was fine, Roland was okay as far as she knew so that left little option for her to worry.

She still felt like she needed to know even if she ended up not liking it.

"Cora came back yesterday and we have her in custody. With the charges you pressed against her we could just keep her locked, but… considering the nature of everything I want to know first what you really want to do."

A little surprised at the news, Regina blinked slowly, as if trying to make what Graham just said register in her brain. It didn't, and when she realized that nothing made sense she scoffed while shaking her head.

The truth of the matter was that the news fell on her like an ice bucket thrown over her head, because her mother being back was definitely the last thing she needed to deal with in that moment.

"I can't..." She began to say, lifting a hand up her head so that her fingers could run through her hair. She didn't know what else to say so she just sucked in a breath.

"Come on." Robin said while grabbing the bag and then Regina's hand. She let him lead her on, walking as if in a trance after him. "Let's take you home."


	31. Chapter 31

'_You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.'_

Going over those words over and over again inside her head as her fingers lazily tugged at the fabric of her ripped dress, Regina Mills stared absentmindedly into the distance as Robin's car advanced forward, moving through the empty street of the still dormant town smoothly.

Now, she couldn't remember where it was that she read those words, but in that particular moment they just popped into her mind and in her current mood she couldn't get them out of her head. It was kind of weird since she wasn't one to put too much emphasis in embellished phrases but somehow, that one wouldn't get away.

True, the words were the kind of motivational crap that would usually make her roll her eyes so the message it carried wasn't exactly what was keeping the phrase swirling within her skull. Actually, what was keeping the words in was a simple question, one that derived from the statement the message wanted to deliver.

What happened when you didn't have it in you to keep being strong?

She really wanted to know because strong was the only thing she has ever aimed to be and the truth was that she was tired of it. She was tired of putting the other cheek when life just kept pushing it's fist on her face and she was tired of keeping her chin above the water when underneath she was being pulled.

So the question remained, what would happen if she just stopped trying? Would she break down and cry as she has done with Robin the night her mother tried to burn down her house or would she just become more of a cynic than she probably was?

Of course, that question would probably remain unanswered because what she was definitely going to do was push all her raging feelings in that secluded part of her being where her unwanted emotions resided and then lock them up and act as if they didn't even exist.

She was a pro at that so she knew the drill. Get so busy that she wouldn't have time to let her mind roll or her feelings manifest…

She had her campaign to focus now, there was Henry and how she should probably sign him up for baseball and maybe she should start working on the baby's nursery. She also had a wedding to plan, not that she wanted something big… or even a reception but there were still a few things to think about the whole thing.

"We're here."

It took Regina several seconds after hearing Robin speak to snap back to reality and when she did, she did it by tilting her head to the side so that she could look at him. He seemed pensive, maybe even a bit somber and she didn't have to put too much effort into guessing what was with him.

She knew him well enough to recognize that look on his face and if anything, he looked like he wasn't entirely content with the way she had kept to herself ever since walking out of the hospital.

That was the thing with Robin, he was a talker… he liked discussing things as raw as he felt them whereas she tended to keep her silence and work things from her mind, and that she hadn't spoken a word about what has happening was probably bothering him.

She was aware of that, but because talking about uncomfortable things wasn't her forte, she decided to ignore the elephant in the room.

"Are you coming in?" She asked because it didn't look like he had the intention of getting out of the car and she deemed that as odd.

"Do you want me to come in?"

She blinked a couple of times before frowning. "Yes." In fact, she has assumed he was going to be there with her and that he hadn't seen it that way threw her back a little bit.

Sure, she has been acting a bit distant but that was not by any means a personal issue with him and it didn't mean she wanted him away. She was sure he knew that…

Unless he had other things to do and never intended to stay in the first place. Sure, Henry was out of town with Emma until she could talk to the woman and tell her everything was okay for him to come back, but Robin still had Roland and he probably needed to go back to him.

"Why, you won't stay?" Before she could help it, her voice came out as if in the brink of panicking and she had to clear her throat to gain a bit of control.

"Of course I will." He reassured her, reaching for her hand and giving her a squeeze before opening the door to get out.

Blowing out a breath, Regina climbed out of the vehicle as well and followed him inside the house. He had the key, the same way he had her phone and everything that was left behind the moment Sidney took her away.

Not that she wanted to recall any of that or about her mother being back, all she wanted was to get a shower and go to sleep, preferably with Robin by her side.

It was with that in mind that she headed straight into her bedroom, then after she would be well rested she could focus on moving on with her life. All she had to do between that shower and waking up later on was kept her mind busy.

"Can you help me with this?" She asked after kicking off her shoes, turning around so that he could see she meant the zipper at the back of her dress.

Robin didn't respond but she heard him walking towards her and then one of his hands was brushing her hair to the side while the other one worked the zipper all the way down to her lower back.

He did that in unusual silence and when he was done she turned around so that he could face him.

He had the same somber expression he had back at the car and she wasn't going to lie, that didn't settle well with her. What if he was giving up on her? What if he was finally fed up with all the chaos that involved being with her?

She couldn't blame him if he did because she was fed up herself.

Sucking in a deep breath, Regina tried to push those thoughts out of her head. She wanted to trust him and not succumb into that kind of thinking, but because she couldn't for the life of her just ask him she decided to go on another route, read his actions and see if she could get something out of them.

Moving her hands to him, she reached for the edge of his shirt and started to pull it up, her intentions to take it off. She did it being careful with his wound, then once it was off she went straight ahead for his belt.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his eyes scanning her face but doing nothing to stop her.

Regina didn't know if that meant she was good to go or no so she stopped, a bit unsure of what she was aiming for.

Maybe it was the concussion, who knew…

"Take a shower with me, just that." Not that there was any need to point that one out, with his wound and her mood it wasn't as if they should be doing more.

At her words, his features softened a bit and she couldn't help but to remember the time he got mad when she suggested he should bail out on her. If he didn't do it then then why would he do it now?

"To save water." He said at last, one eyebrow arching up and the corner of his lips curving.

"Definitely."

Biting on his lips, Robin snorted, then he went ahead to take off the rest of his clothes. Regina followed his example, throwing everything she has been wearing as far as she could because she intended to throw them into the trash.

Once everything was off they went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. As she suggested, they started doing what they came to do, washing themselves and nothing more.

They did it in silence, but contrary to her initial distrust of the lack of words on his part she now took comfort in it, her mind focusing on how the spray of warm water against her skin felt heavenly.

For three days she has been denied of that simple pleasure and she intended to enjoy it all the way through, washing from her hair to her toes as if she has never done it before.

It was only when she was rinsing the soap and shampoo away that she ventured to take a good look at Robin, who much like herself was cleaning up real nice.

Sure, she has stolen a few glances at him during their shower and has even brushed against him, but she took this time to really look at him. Yes, he was a sight to be seen, naked and dripping wet, but what she couldn't stop looking was the wound on his side.

"Does it hurt?"

Using his fingers to comb his wet hair back, Robin lowered his face so that he could look down at the wound and shrugged. "It bothers me a little, but nothing too grave."

Regina parted her lips and exhaled through her mouth. Yes, she could see now that it was clean and not covered in blood that the damage wasn't really that severe; the bullet did break a bit of skin but it just brushed him.

But still, she couldn't help but to recall the blind panic she felt when she saw him bleeding back in the woods. It was the kind of fear she would rather never feel again.

But because she wanted to forget everything that happened in the last few days, she clasped her mouth shut, grabbed for the bottle of body wash and poured some soap into her palm. Once there she took a step forward and started to rub her hands to his chest.

She started there, slowly working her way up to his shoulders and then back down, reaching his stomach but being careful with his wound. She liked the way he felt underneath her touch, smooth, warm and so full of life.

"So how's this, you can touch me but you can't talk to me?"

Arching an eyebrow, Regina settled her eyes on Robin's. He was staring right back at her but in great discordance with his words, she couldn't detect in his stare any kind of animosity.

Now, part of her wanted to answer that yes, that was the way it was. Touching was permitted but talking wasn't, but because the last thing she needed was to make him think she was pushing him away, she shrugged.

"I can talk to you." She said, and with her hands still on him she took another step that brought her nearer to him. She only stopped when he could feel her nipples brushing against his chest. "And you can touch me."

Robin hummed, and even when he didn't take on the invitation of touching her, she could feel how his not so subtle erection pressed against the sensitive flesh of her lower stomach.

It wasn't exactly what she meant but at the same time it was something she could deal with, because if she could lure him into wanting to reel in sensation instead of talking, then things would be easier for her.

She was tired yes, but what was a little bit of stolen time with the man she loved and almost lost?

It was with that thought in mind that she pressed a bit more into him and that right there made him bit hard on his lips, his face lowering as he watched her hands move to his hips.

Liking how his eyes were on her, the brunette woman kept rubbing his skin, going as low as his tights and then up to his waist, her arms circling him so that she could touch his back.

While she did that, Robin lifted both his hands and curled them around the shower faucet, his eyes refusing to leave the progress her hands were making and his lower body pressing a bit more into her.

Regina took that moment to drag her hands back to his chest and then further up and to his neck. There she quickly worked her fingers behind his ears, to the back of his neck and underneath his jaw. She did it while looking up to his face.

His eyes had darkened and she could tell that he was enjoying the moment, but there was something she knew about him that most people didn't, and that was that he was almost as stubborn as she was and that she could do whatever she wanted to and he was going to just stand there. At least until he could get what he wanted first and that was what hid in the back of her head.

"What is it that you want me to say? That my life is like a bad soap opera and that I have to learn how to live it?"

"Your life is not a bad soap opera." Robin said and she rolled her eyes.

"It is. Or maybe a bad movie were everything and anything would happen. I mean who gets kidnapped by a madman… you know, on top of all the absurd things that I've gone through?"

Stopping so she could squeeze more liquid soap into her hand, Regina snorted. Then she just rubbed her hands together and began anew with her work, only that this time she went straight to the engorged member standing proudly against her stomach.

She took it almost with care, circling her palm around the base and then slowly going up to the head of it. First up, and then down… up, and then back down so she could squeeze it firmly.

"Or maybe I'm just cursed or something." Looking up to him and then brushing her thumb around the rim of nerves at the head of his manhood, Regina sighed.

Robin cleared his throat and taking her by surprise, he took her hands away from him. He kept his hold on them though, his fingers lacing with hers as the spray of the shower kept falling on them.

"I think things would be a little more out of control if this was a soap opera." He began to say, but before she could ask why he made her stop he went on. "I mean in a soap opera we could end up being half siblings… or I would turn out to be Henry's biological father or some bloody crap like that."

"What?" She blurted out in a chuckle despite herself.

"Now if it would be a bad movie we would be living in a post apocalyptic world overcome with zombies or I don't know, flying monkeys and sharks in a tornado."

Scoffing first and then laughing, Regina shook her head. She didn't know how he could do it, but after her own son, he was the only person who could make her forget about everything that was wrong with just a few silly words.

"You are out of your mind."

Instead of replying, Robin leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. The closeness made her automatically close her eyes and when he kissed the top of her nose she smiled.

"I don't know what I would have done with myself if something would have happened to you."

Clenching her jaw at the sudden change of subject, Regina swallowed on dry. She didn't want to hear what he was going to say, not because she didn't care, but because she knew it was going to provoke things in her she didn't want to deal with at the moment.

"The kind of fear I had about losing you is the kind I've never felt before, not like that and I don't want to ever feel it again. Regina I was going out of my mind, I couldn't think, or sleep or even eat… and now that you're here I can't bear how you are shunning me out."

"I'm not… shunning you out. I'm here, with you like I want us to be."

"Yeah, you're here. But you are making it feel like there's a ten feet brick wall between us and sure, you throw this illusion of letting me in but we both know you're only doing it to distract me into thinking I'm in when I'm not."

Her hands were still in his so she couldn't use them to run her fingers through her hair as she would have wanted to, so instead she ran her tongue against her lips and looked away.

"I know you are used to deal things on your own, I get it and I don't want to force you into talking to me, but I do want you to feel comfortable enough to know that you can do it. You don't always have to be the strong one, you can cry and yell and even cuss at me, whatever you need to do to let it all out. You can break and I'll be here, picking up the pieces to put you back together."

Closing her eyes, she tightened the hold on his hands. "I wish I could do that… but I can't. I don't have anything to let out, it's like I'm running on empty and I don't know how to keep going."

Releasing one of her hands, Robin brushed his thumb against her cheek. "If that's how you feel then let me be the one to take you along. You trust me for that?"

Regina nodded, closing her eyes and realizing that a few rebel tears had escaped her. Robin noticed too, probably before she ever did because before they could completely slide down her cheeks he wiped them away.

"I don't know how you haven't run away from all this mess."

"Because I'm madly in love with you and there's nothing and no one who could ever make me stop being head over heels over you."

"Even if doing so caused somebody to shoot you?"

"Even after that. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Regina. Nothing, and that includes taking a bullet. Or in this case having it graze me. Hopefully it won't come to that ever again."

"How about kissing me, would you do that?"

Smiling his enticing dimple smile, he moved his hand to the back of her head and guided it in his direction, then when she was close enough he pressed his mouth to hers.

He didn't push it farther than that and just lingered for a few seconds. When he finally parted away she dragged her lips to the corner of his and kissed him there. Then she moved back so that their lips could brush lightly and as if he has been waiting for her to do that, he moved his thumb to her jaw and pulled it down, creating a gap so that he could deepen the kiss.

Sighing at the way his tongue melted against her own, Regina kissed him back. They did that for a while, her hands lazily playing with his wet hair as the intensity of the moment escalated in such a way that she no longer felt tired, just craving for him.

It didn't help matters that they were naked and pressed together, so using that for her advantage she moved her hips so that her groin could grind against his own arousal.

The movement made him hiss against her mouth and then she felt both his hands move to the same spot. They went right to her ass and once there he grabbed her, his hands full of her flesh as he pulled her even more into him.

Loving the sensation, Regina rose on her tiptoes, making his erection brush against her. It was what she wanted, what she needed, him making her feel alive and her blood boil as it ran through her veins.

She craved for the connection… she wouldn't know how to explain it but after everything she has gone through she needed proof that she wasn't empty inside like she told him.

But just as she was starting to really get in the mood, he pulled from the kiss and patted her ass playfully. "Come on, doctor said you needed to rest."

Parting her mouth while her tongue pressed to the corner of her lips, Regina wrinkled her nose. "Are you serious?"

"Very serious." He said, reaching for the shower to kill it.

Blinking a couple of times, Regina snorted. She didn't want them to stop and judging by how his erection has pushed insistently against her, she was going to guess he wanted it too so she really didn't understand why he was pushing her away.

"You don't want me?"

At the question he laughed almost in amusement. "I do want you, trust me. But I want you to get better more that I want to do this."

"So it's one thing or the other, we can't have both?"

"Regina…" He said in a warning and his tone made her clench her jaw and stare at him through wide eyes.

He was refusing her, just after saying he would do anything for her he was refusing the only thing she asked of him.

"Okay then." Swirling on her feet, she walked past him and made it out of the shower. Then, with all the dignity she still had in her she grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her naked body and started to brush her hair.

As she did that she saw out of the corner of her eyes how he walked out of the shower himself and as he started to dry off she slid out of the bathroom and went to her bed, dropped the towel, climbed in and covered herself head to toe with her comforter.

She would have dressed before going to bed but she wanted to be tucked in as soon as she could.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked and as if in tune with his question, the comforter was lifted off her face.

She didn't say anything though, she just kept her eyes tight shut as she felt him climb into bed next to her.

"Regina. Come on, don't be like this." His hand went to her hips, shaking her a little. When she didn't even stir he went ahead and made her turn on her back. "Regina."

She heard him scoff and that rubbed her the wrong way, so when she felt his hand on her stomach and then moving lower so that his fingers could brush between her legs she slapped his hand away.

"I'm trying to sleep… so keep to your side of the bed."

"Are you really pulling this… whatever dramatic thing on me?" He asked and yes, in his tone she detected that he was amused. First he turned her down and now he was making fun of her.

It kind of riled her up a little. "Screw you Robin. You wanted me to cuss at you? Well there you have it."

Now was she being a bit over the top? Sure, but somehow it wasn't like she could help it. If later on she ended up regretting it she could blame it on her hormones, the concussion or even her tiredness.

"Oh wow. Okay."

Because her eyes were still closed, she couldn't see him, but she did feel him climbing over her. At that, she tried to push him away but just by touching him she heard him groan in pain as his head buried into the crook of her neck.

Her eyes flew open immediately and she took her hands off of him, suddenly realizing she probably hurt his wound.

"Jesus, Regina." He hissed, rolling to his back and covering his face with his arm.

"Oh my God I'm sorry." She mumbled, quickly checking to see if the stitches opened or if she made him bleed. It was only when she saw than none of the above happened that she was able to breath again. "I'm so, so sorry."

Pulling the arm away, Robin looked down to his side to check himself as well. "I know you are mad but gosh, this is cruel."

"I didn't mean it." She said, her voice trembling a bit as she fought hard against the urge to cry. Gone was her acrid mood and to replace it there was a deep sense of guilt. "I'm sorry."

Probably taking notice on the expression on her face, Robin reached for her cheek. "It's okay, it was nothing. Just shook me a bit."

She sniffed, wondering why she was acting so unlike herself. Was it the pregnancy or the burden of her repressed feelings fighting to go out? "I didn't mean it."

"I know."

Sitting and twisting his lips, Robin took in a deep breath and Regina was sure he was thinking on a way to tell her he was going to go.

But instead he turned to her. "Alright so can we try this again without you trying to kill me?"

Not understanding him, Regina just looked at him. But when he leaned into her until he was forcing her to lay on her back once again, she just let him.

He accommodated himself carefully right between her legs. He wasn't hard though, not that he would be after what just happened so he just lay there on top of her, his hand going to caress her face as he fixed his eyes on hers.

"You are truly something else, you knew that?"

"If something else is a bad thing then yes, I knew."

"It isn't a bad thing, and you are not either. A bit melodramatic maybe… and overcome with that pesky habit of being such a pessimist at heart but no, not bad. Wouldn't mind if you would also talk more of what's in your head but we'll get there."

Chewing on her lips and lifting a hand to his face as well, she nodded. "We will, just don't give up on me."

"Never." With that said, he kissed her.

He did it slow at first, and when that wasn't enough he kissed her until she was breathless, his hands running along every inch of her skin; then when he finally slid into her and they started to move languidly as one, he was kissing her too.

On her back and with Robin on top of her, Regina's back arched against him. She wanted him to satiate the burning sensation that was consuming her, hard and fast so that she could feel it through every fiber of her being; but she knew she had to be patient, as she didn't want to hurt him again.

But then with the friction of their bodies moving together and his lips insistently searching for hers it happened.

She came undone first, and as his time was close she held onto him and received everything he had to give.

Later, as they lay in the blissful aftermatch of their lovemaking while slowly drifting away into a slumber, Regina cleared her throat and searched for his hand.

"Robin…"

"Hmm?"

"I want to see her."

Not having to ask who she was referring to, the father of her unborn child closed his hand around hers.

"You sure?"

Shrugging, she sighed. Her mother was a chapter of her life that needed a real closure and if she really wanted to let go of everything that wasn't letting her reach her true happiness she guessed she needed to go for it. "Yes, I am sure."

She probably wasn't going to find the encounter pleasant but that was life for her.

Bringing her hand to his lips so that he could kiss her knuckles, he yawned. "Okay, but first you get your rest. No more detours."

Humming and snuggling against him, she closed her eyes and tried to do as he said, rest.


	32. Chapter 32

"Are you certain this is what you want to do?"

Drawing a breath while taking a glance towards the building that rose like a mountain of bricks at the other side of the street, the brown eyed woman known as Regina Mills tightened her grip on Robin's hand while her head gave the slightest of nods.

Part of her wanted to say no, that she was not certain and let alone mentally prepared for the upcoming encounter, but because she knew this meeting to be necessary she refrained herself from saying so.

No matter how hesitant and yeah, why not admit it, how nervous she was feeling, she was going to walk in there and do what she came to do, which was talk with her mother.

"I have to do it." She replied at last, plain and simple.

Feeling how the man by her side reciprocated the way she tightened her hold on him by giving her hand a firm squeeze, Regina tilted her chin up towards him and did her best to smile.

Now she wasn't sure if she managed to do that because the muscles of her face felt as if they were made out drying concrete and they would just not cooperate, meaning that she wouldn't be surprised if instead of smiling she just ended up flashing a grimace his way.

However her intent came out to, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, a silent reassurance that he was going to be there for her.

She was glad that he did that; in fact she was glad for everything he was bringing to the table. His never-ending patience and support, how he took care of her even if the feminist in her was sure she didn't need a man to do that and just the deep sense of comfort he made her feel just by being around.

She was a hundred percent sure she would have crumbled long ago if it wasn't for him. That was something she needed to tell him… if only the words wouldn't be so hard to pronounce.

"Come on, I want to get over with this once and for all."

Putting her feet on motion and refusing to let go on Robin's hand, Regina walked across the street and made it into the Sheriff's Station. Once there she asked for the one person who could help her do what she came to do, the Sheriff himself.

It was as a deputy went to look for his superior that Robin's phone started to ring. He took it out of his pocket and took a look at the screen.

"It's Ruby, I need to sign some deposits before she can open the bar and I told her to meet me up here."

Nodding, she saw him decline the call.

She knew he did that in order to keep her company; in fact, according to what they have been talking about as they made their way to the station, because of her he has been neglecting the recently open bar.

Sure, he didn't exactly used those words, but what he said could be resumed like this, while she was gone he apparently left the bar in Ruby's hands.

He trusted her and she was doing a good job, but the way Regina saw it, that didn't have to happen anymore. He should start going there now that she was back, because in order for everything to go back to normal they needed to take back on their everyday routines.

She didn't want to get stuck in the aftermatch of what happened to her. No, she needed to turn that page, even if it meant living in denial as Robin surely thought she was doing.

"You know you can take that call and meet with her, I'm going to be fine here."

Before he could answer, his phone rang again. He hesitated before blowing out a breath. "Are you sure? This can wait a while longer."

"I'm sure." She tried the smiling thing again and this time she was sure she did a better job of it.

"Alright, this will just take a few minutes and then I'm back. She is probably even out as we speak."

Leaning forward, he kissed her cheek and just like that he was gone.

Regina watched after him and it wasn't until she heard someone call for her that she snapped back to reality.

"Madam Mayor, the Sheriff will see you now."

Clearing her throat, the brunette swirled gracefully around and walked after the deputy and into Graham's office. He left her there, leaving the door partially open.

"Regina." The Sheriff greeted her as she took a seat in the chair opposite to the man's desk.

"I want to talk with my mother, alone."

She went straight to the point, her tone and posture full in Mayor's mode. True, what she was asking was basically a personal favor since she had no say in how he enforced the law, but it helped that she was in charge of the whole town.

"Have you decided what you want to do with her? You pressed the charges so it's your call. We can keep her locked up but she's already demanding for her lawyer so you know she'll want a trial."

Not really surprised, she clenched her jaw and tried to keep her face completely stoic. "I'll decide after I talk to her."

"Okay." He reached for the phone on his desk and on speaker he told his deputy that the Mayor was going to see Cora Mills, the man responded saying he was going to let him know when things would be ready for them to go.

"So, how are you doing after all of this? Things have been a little crazy so I haven't found the time to ask you."

"I'm fine." She replied as she watched him stand up so that he could walk towards her. He sat on the chair by her side and she had to arch an eyebrow.

"Of course you are. That was always your favorite response to everything. But anyway, heard about the baby so congratulation."

Frowning at how awkward he was making things feel, Regina shifted on the chair. "Thank you."

"He looks like a good man, would have make a great addition to my team as he was restless and very driven into finding you. I hate to admit this but it would have taken us a while longer to get to you if it wasn't for him."

At the words, her lips automatically curved into a smile. "He's great."

"Anyone who manages to make you smile has to be. I never did, I mean I tried to and failed miserably because you wouldn't even budge."

Scoffing, she ran a hand through her hair. She didn't know what to respond because she wasn't even sure what he was trying to do. Yes, almost eight years ago they had a thing, but that felt like a lifetime ago so in her book it was basically irrelevant.

"I'm happy for you, if anyone deserves it it's you." He took her left hand and lifted it to get a look at the ring. "Now if you only managed to get out of trouble and keep my department from working overtime, I'll be even happier."

Running the tip of her tongue against the edge of her teeth, Regina snorted. "I'll try to."

Instead of replying, Graham quickly let go of her hand and after clearing his throat he hurried to his feet. "I'll go see what's taking so long, Madam Mayor."

With that said, the man started to walk out. Regina followed his progress until she saw that Robin was standing by the door. When Graham walked right past him he just ran a hand over his lips and scoffed.

"Why do I feel like I just interrupted you two having a moment here?"

Finding the comment to be more than ridiculous, Regina snorted. "What?"

"Oh you heard me."

Blinking slowly and opening her mouth to reply, she frowned. She wasn't sure if he was being serious or not but since the look on his face said anything but amused, she was going to take a wild guess and say that yes, that he was being serious.

Still, she just had to ask. "Are you serious?"

He shrugged, folding his arms to his chest and fixing his eyes on her.

Now, despite the hell she just went through, the scare she suffered when she saw him get shot and the fact that she was about to talk to her mother as a way to close that chapter in her life, Regina had to smile at the act he was pulling.

"Are you jealous of Graham?" After asking that, she stood from the chair and walked to him. "Now don't be silly."

"Silly? I walked into you two holding hands and whispering sweets nothings to each other."

Standing in front of him and wrapping both her arms around his waist, Regina lifted her face to him. "Do you really think that in this moment of my life I have the will or even the capacity of dealing with two men in my life? Is that the kind of trust you have in me?"

He sighed, loosening his arms and putting them around her. "I trust you, not sure if I trust him… or if I even like him and his pretty boy looks."

Amused, Regina wrinkled her nose. She knew she should be annoyed and perhaps even mad at the possessive display, but she wasn't. What she wanted was to assure him there was nothing to be jealous of. "You know I love you, right? Just you and only you."

She kissed him after saying that, a soft peck on his lips.

He didn't respond at first, but then she did it again and again until he at last kissed her back.

"We should elope. Go and marry far from here, just us and the boys."

"Is that what you want?"

"I just want you… well that and all of this madness to be over."

He kissed her again, but when they heard Graham clearing his throat as he went back into the office they pulled apart.

"Cora is ready, come with me."

Widening her eyes and searching for Robin's hand, Regina started to walk after Graham. With what happened a while ago her nerves had somehow eased a bit, but now that the wheels were back in motion she started to feel like her stomach wanted to drop and like each heartbeat was a stab inside her chest.

It felt like she was walking the green mile and what awaited behind the door at the end of the corridor was the electric chair.

"Are you going to be okay?" Robin asked once they were standing outside the door.

Regina nodded, letting go of his hand.

"She's in handcuffs, she won't be able to hurt her."

"Not physically." Robin said because what Graham just said has been directed to him.

"I'll be fine." Not wanting to delay the encounter a second longer, Regina clenched her teeth and pushed the door open.

Inside, her mother was sitting behind a huge wooden table. She was in handcuffs just like Graham said she would and she was staring at Regina with the same blank expression she herself like using when she didn't want people to know what was in her mind.

"Hello mother." She said, walking forward so that she could also take a seat. She was surprised at how her voice didn't crack and at how she didn't feel the turmoil of emotions she has been sure were going to attack her.

Lifting her chin petulantly and pursing her lips, Cora eyed her daughter with contempt. "I see they found you in one piece."

"Disappointed?"

At that question, the mask Cora has been wearing flinched a little. "What? Never… if I came back here was to make sure that good for nothing of a Sheriff that you have would find you. Imagine my surprise when they arrested me and threw me in here like a common criminal."

"Really? Don't tell me you actually expected a welcome back party? You committed a crime; you tried to burn my house down so locking you up in here is more than fitting."

Cora's mouth twisted in all directions but her eyes never even dropped from hers. "Alright, I'll give it to you. You're mad, I get it, but keeping me in here is only going to hurt you. I know you are back on the run for election and…"

Groaning and rolling her eyes, Regina lifted a hand and motioned her mother to shut up. "Just stop it, okay. I didn't come here to let you try take over my life."

"So why did you come here for, to gloat?"

Shaking her head, Regina shrugged. "I don't know. I think part of me wanted to come here and ask why is it that you hate me so much that you can't just stop ruining my life… but I guess that's not important anymore."

"Regina, darling, I don't hate you. Everything I do is for you, for your good… you are the only thing I have in life."

Mad at her words, she laughed bitterly. "You sure have a great way of showing it."

"I know I sometimes let things go a little out of hand with the things I do, but they are never ill intentioned."

"They are not? You tried to burn my house and blame it on Robin. What kind of deranged person does that? What would have happened if I was there, or Henry?"

At the question, Cora said nothing, she just rolled her eyes and set her eyes elsewhere.

"You know what? Don't even respond because I don't want to hear whatever excuse you'll try to feed me. I came here without having clear what was that I wanted, but now that I have you here, face to face I'll just say that I feel sorry for you. You are weak, so weak that you tried to rise from that by trying to manipulate me and make me feel like I'm not good enough under your eyes. It worked, I hate to admit it but for years I believed that… but guess what? Not anymore because you no longer have any kind of power over me."

"I never did such a thing."

Closing her fist and slamming it into the table, Regina snarled her lips. The movement made Cora flinch.

"Yes, you did." She hissed. "And every time I tried to break free from your claws you did whatever it took to keep me there. You did it with Daniel and you tried to do it now with Robin."

"That boy was never worthy of you, neither is this idiot, Robin. Is it true you let him impregnate you?"

"The only one who's not worthy here is you. I'm done with you. I'm going to let Graham take you out of town as if none of this ever happened, but if you put a foot back in this town or if you even try something against the people I love, I will personally make sure you stay locked up forever and trust me, I will not hesitate or even flinch."

"Is that the way you are going to treat your mother?"

Smirking and looking at the older woman dead in the eye, Regina scoffed and got to her feet. "Goodbye, Cora."

In a way those simple words made her feel liberated and finally free. It was as if she just dropped a ten thousand dead weight off her shoulders and walking without it pulling her down felt good.

"Regina." Cora called out but she just turned her back to her and walked to the door. "Regina!"

Outside, Robin was waiting. So was Graham. She went directly towards the father of her unborn child and hopefully the man she was going to marry soon and hugged him.

His nose buried in her hair and as she felt him breathe in, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the comfort he always made her feel. "You okay?"

"I will be." Kissing his cheek, Regina turned and told Graham how it was going to be and after the Sheriff agreed she went back into Robin's arms. "Come on, let's go home."


	33. Chapter 33

If anyone would come asking if she was happy, Regina would without a doubt say that yes, that she was actually very much so. In fact, she could even venture out and say that she has never been happier in her entire life and maybe, just maybe, people would believe her.

Why wouldn't they? After all from the outside it looked as if everything in her life was finally falling in place; like all the missing pieces of the puzzle of her entire existence were finally coming together to make everything whole, complete.

Career wise she was thriving; elections were less than six months away and as things were looking, everything was definitely going in her favor. Yes, things were still a bit rocky because Gold was going out his way to do her dirty, but the general consensus was that she was going ahead and by quite a good advantage.

Belle attribute their lead to the fact that they were having a good campaign and that her work from previous terms was paying off; but if she had to be honest, she would have to admit that she had the distinct feeling that people were plain and simply morbidly fascinated with the train wreck that her life turned out to be and that was why they were favoring her.

It was like they were drawn to the disaster and the expectation of what would come next for her was keeping them at the edge of their seat… like if her life was a movie with the weirdest of plots and they just needed to know what was next.

But whatever the reason, the fact was that the election was more likely than not hers so yes, when it came to work she could say that everything was turning out perfectly.

As for her personal life? She couldn't complain. Henry was doing great and was as happy as she has ever seen him, Roland was sweet as always, her pregnancy was going smoothly, she was feeling physically better and Robin was more than what she could ever ask for.

Sure, she didn't exactly know how to externalize it and she was yet to tell him things as they were, but the reality of it all was that her fiancée was slowly but steadily becoming her rock and support during the transition into this new life she was now living and she couldn't feel more grateful about it.

He didn't push for her to give more than what she was giving even when she was sure he expected her to be a little more open and instead of demanding what she knew she should give, he has opted for the road of patience.

So overall, yes, she was doing more than fine… and yet, deep inside she couldn't help but to feel that there was a little bit of sadness in her happiness and that as much as she tried to or how much she wanted to, she couldn't completely let go of certain darkness that seemed to have a liking into settling into the most remote parts of her soul.

It was something that even when it didn't always manifest itself, it was still there, lurking in the shadows ready to break free and at times she just didn't know how to deal with it.

Yes, most of the times when she was suddenly hit with such oppressive feelings she had something in which to entertain her mind with so that it wouldn't affect her; work, Robin, the boys… but there were times when there was nothing more than her and her demons and those were the times she felt at her lowest.

That night was a perfect example, she has gone to bed earlier on and she has done so feeling relatively content. It has been a Friday night and after a long day at work she decided to just sit and relax with Henry and watch a movie or two.

It was nothing she hadn't done before so she didn't even put much thought into it; but when she woke up suddenly in the middle of the night with a strangled gasp stuck in her throat and a heavy feeling in her chest, she couldn't help but to wonder what was it that really triggered her into reacting like that.

Could it be stress? She was after all pregnant, in the middle of her campaign and more or less with an wedding on the way so it would be normal to feel a bit overwhelmed.

Was it her subconscious reminiscing everything that has gone wrong in her past? Or maybe what was bothering was nothing more than that nagging feeling in the back of her head that kept telling her not to get too comfortable because only bad things happened to her…

She didn't know what it was and why it was happening now that she had everything she needed to have to be happy, and as the control freak that she was, not having control of her own damn emotions was frustrating as hell.

Her life was essentially going fine, yeah… but inside she was struggling and she was tired of it.

Sucking in a deep breath and deciding not to let herself be swamped over with the bad vibes, Regina grabbed her phone from where it has been charging on her bedside table and checked the hour.

It was almost one in the morning so by all means she should just turn around and go back to sleep, but instead of doing that she got to her feet and after a quick visit to the bathroom, she went down to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Once Regina was back in her room, she reached for her phone again, only that this time she went a bit further up and used it to call Robin.

At that hour and at the beginning of the weekend, odds were he was probably at his bar so without minding how late it was she dialed for him. Maybe that was what she needed, a quick chat with him before trying for sleep once more.

He had that soothing effect on her so who knew, maybe just by the sound of his voice she could feel more at peace. Sure, seeing him would be better but she was not going to push it, after all the last thing she wanted was to be clingy.

They would have all the time in the world to see each other later on, because once they married they would officially move in together and they wouldn't have settle to just meet when they could.

"Hello, gorgeous."

At the playful tone of his voice, Regina's lips automatically curved into half a smile. "Did you know that by town regulation your locale should be closing in less than ten minutes?"

At the other side Robin chuckled, she heard him as clear as if he was there by her side. "Oh so this is an official matter, and here I was hoping my beautiful fiancée was calling to tell me how much she misses me."

"No, sorry. This is strictly official." Now, Regina did miss him; with their still mixed up schedules they hadn't been able to spend as much time as they would like together and in her current funk she was feeling his absence tenfold, but she wasn't saying that, not by the phone.

"And is this an exclusive service from the Mayor herself or are you calling all the other locales as well?"

"It's an exclusive service."

"Oh I see, I see. I'm going to assume this exclusive service is because I'm the most handsome, right?"

Scoffing, Regina ran a hand through her hair and lay on her back. "Well it certainly wasn't because you were the humblest of them all."

Robin hummed and she could almost visualize him in her mind, teeth running over his lips, eyes bright and shinning and definitely a dimple smile gracing his features.

"Well before you call the authorities on me, let me assure you that we are closing up as we speak."

"Good, then I can feel more at peace knowing you are not violating your permits."

"As if I would ever. So why are you up so late? Can't sleep?"

Remembering how she has woken up earlier on with that deep sense of doom eating her entrails but choosing not to talk about it, Regina shrugged. "I was asleep… then I think I woke up because I was hungry."

He snorted at her words. "Hungry, is that so?"

"Mhhm." And actually, she was indeed hungry; but that was hardly anything new. Ever since her morning sickness went away it got replaced by a never-ending hunger that wouldn't just go away and that moment wasn't an exception.

At first she would try to satiate said hunger by eating everything she would ever desire, but after realizing it couldn't be hunger since she could never seemed to appease it, she has learned to deal with it through other ways.

That night after waking up she drank all the water she could as a way to try and cheat the feeling, but as she lay there she had to admit that it didn't work.

"Alright, and what exactly are you hungry for?"

Wrinkling her nose, Regina bit on her lips before replying. "A grill chicken sandwich, but it needs to have swiss cheese, bacon, tomato and a few avocado slices. The avocado being the most important part of course."

Yes, as of late she was crazily obsessed with avocados and she would eat them in everything. Salads, wraps, eggs, fries or she would simply put it on a toast and eat it like that. It was ridiculous but he knew all about it since he has witnessed such obsession first hand.

"Well that's awfully specific." He said from the other side of the phone and Regina smoothed the small baby bump that has taken over her stomach absentmindedly.

"And then to that I would add fries and a large Coke, oh and it would need to have lots and lots of ice…. crushed."

"Regina, do you realize it's one in the morning? Where the bloody hell am I supposed to get you that?"

Rolling her eyes, the pregnant woman puffed out a breath. She did it by staring at the ceiling of her bedroom through the darkness that was taking over. "Robin, I didn't say that so you would get it for me; I know you're working. And I didn't call to bother you so never mind me, you just go ahead and finish up closing the bar."

From the other side of the line she could hear quite a few people talking and she wondered if he really closed up.

"You sure?"

Thinking that this was the third weekend after the Sidney incident were he would stay at the bar until late but the first one were he hadn't said anything about meeting her during the day or even straight after finishing up like he did the previous Friday, Regina closed her eyes.

She understood that he was probably tired and that he had Roland to take care after probably not getting enough sleep so she tried to be reasonable… but still, she wanted to see him.

It didn't have to be in that moment, but maybe much later, after he went home and rested but before he had to leave for the bar again for Saturday night.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She started to say and then as an afterthought she added something she didn't really want to ask. "Am I going to see you tomorrow?"

She heard Robin talk to someone else before he was able to respond to her.

"Sure. Listen… I have to go now so let's talk later."

"Hmm."

"I love you."

"Okay." She said and without adding more to the conversation she hung up and put the phone away.

She didn't know why but the truth was that for some reason she was upset by how that call ended. Now she wasn't sure if it was part of her funk, because Robin didn't seem to put much enthusiasm about seeing her or because she couldn't for the life of her just go ahead and be straight with him and tell him she wanted to see him.

It shouldn't have to be such a big deal, after all she already told him that she loved him and after agreeing into marrying him, it was obvious that her feelings for him ran deep. So what was it about asking him to come over or just talking about how she felt that she evaded so much?

Pursing her lips and not getting a reasonable answer to the question, Regina made another trip into the kitchen and after munching on a string cheese and lots and lots of water, she just started roaming around the house.

She went to Henry's room to check on the sleeping boy, she made another visit to the bathroom and she even stopped by the room that was supposed to be Roland's. She has been able to convince Robin how it was better for everybody to move into her house after the wedding and now the boy's room to be needed to be worked upon.

Her future stepson was going to get what used to be Cora's bedroom so getting rid of all her mother's stuff was really going to be another bumpy emotional journey

That was without mentioning the nursery so maybe instead of getting upset about trivialities what she should do was put her ass into motion and begin working on those projects.

By the time she went back to bed it was past two in the morning and no, she just couldn't fall asleep as easily as she would have wanted to.

She lay in bed, restless and thinking about everything that was going on, all until she heard the distinct sound of the door of her bedroom being opened.

Tensing and having some unwanted thoughts of Sidney escaping the mental institution he has been confined into so that he could go to her and finish what he started, Regina slid out of bed and grabbed the first thing she was able to find in the dark and just waited for the man to enter.

It was a long way from the door to the bed so it would take a while for him to make his way to her and since she had the advantage of having her eyesight adjusted to the dark she was going to be able to see him while she waited for him to approach in the shadows.

But when he came in, the first thing he did was turn on the light and after the discomfort the brightness provoked in her eyes she noticed that no, it was not Sidney.

"For the love of God, Robin, you scared the hell out of me." She hissed through clenched teeth, more annoyed than anything else.

Arching an eyebrow, the man stared at her for a few seconds while she put the lamp down, his lips almost breaking into a smile and his eyes sparkling. She knew him well enough to know he was amused at the whole thing and that he had on the tip of his tongue what was going to be a very unwelcomed comment; he was just considering if he should say it or not.

"I brought food?" He chose to say that instead of whatever comment has been dancing in his mind and then he proceeded to walk towards her.

He kissed her briefly when he went to her and when he circled an arm around her waist she gave in and threw her arms around his neck, giving into the embrace and closing her eyes as she breathed into his scent.

"What did you pretend to do with that lamp?"

Groaning, she pulled away and looked at him in the eye. "Shut up, you scared me and that was the closest thing I was able to grab."

"I see… well, um we'll work on those defense skills later on. You still hungry?"

Twisting her lips and noticing for the first time that he came in holding a bag and a big soda cup, Regina nodded.

She was indeed hungry so when he guided her back to bed and started unwrapping what he brought she gasped.

"What… oh you didn't."

But apparently he did so reaching for the sandwich and biting into it, she hummed in delight, forgetting all about the scare he gave her a while ago or about how upset she has been.

"It has avocado. Oh my God." And bacon, and it was better than what she had imagined. Closing her eyes and enjoying the flavors blending on her tongue as she chew on the food, she hummed again.

"Wow, I think this is the most satisfied I've seen you in bed. I'm kind of questioning my manhood now."

Blinking her eyes open and fixing them on his, Regina breathed in. But instead of replying to such silly statement she took another bite.

"Do you want some?" She asked, her mouth full as she grabbed for a french-fry. It was unlike her to have such poor manners but first, this was Robin and second, it was all so good that she just couldn't help it.

Shrugging, the father of her unborn child leaned forward and bit into the sandwich. That way, they finished the meal, Regina eating most of it but sharing some with Robin.

"Was it good?" He asked at last while putting the trash away.

Drinking the last of the soda before putting the cup away, Regina wrinkled her nose. She couldn't even remember the last time she sipped on soda before that night and there she was, bummed that she drank it too soon. "Yes it was, where did you get it?"

Lifting a hand so that he could brush a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Robin blinked slowly. He did it by letting his eyes roam around her face. "Let's just say that Ruby let me break into Granny's."

Rolling her eyes because she was sure the older woman wouldn't appreciate him doing that and especially if it was for her, Regina scoffed. "That was lovely, but you know you didn't have to go out of your way for me."

At her words, Robin smiled, using his knuckles to trace a path from her cheek to her jaw. "It was nothing. At least not compared to having to hunt lizards around the Island of doom and then doing the whole killing, skinning and then cleaning before cooking them for you. And then not even close to spending endless days under an unmerciful scorching hot sun trying to catch a fish for you."

Chuckling and lowering her eyes, Regina bit lightly on her lips. Yes, he did all that for her when they were in the Island and ever since she has done nothing more than take and take without giving him what he wanted the most, which was for her to open up completely for him.

It was always her the one holding back… and she didn't want to do that anymore.

Thinking about that, she lifted her hand to where his was on her face and then looked at him. "You are too good to me. Probably more than what I deserve."

Before answering, Robin pushed forward and kissed her, his lips pressing against hers for a couple of seconds before breaking away. "Now don't be silly saying that, you're perfect to me."

"Even if I'm a little broken?"

His eyes fixed fully on hers and he frowned a little. "You are not broken, and even if you were I would still love you the same. I love you with all the dents and cracks and everything that comes with them, even if most of the time you keep me on my toes trying to guess what is it that you really want."

Regina blew out a breath but said nothing.

"You know you could have just said you wanted me to come over instead of just... letting me guess and then hanging on me when I apparently didn't get it, right? Because that's what you did."

Trying not to roll her eyes, Regina bit on the inside of her cheek. "I know."

"In fact, I would've liked it better if you just said it like that because that way I would at least know that you still want _this_."

Doing a double take, Regina blinked in confusion. It took her a while to internalize what he meant by that and when it settled, she scoffed. "What do you mean? You know I want this. Robin-"

"Well, it's just that sometimes you make it a little hard to tell so I can't help but to wonder if perhaps you feel pressured into all of this. That's the last thing I want, for you to feel uncomfortable so I try not to be all over you and to give you space… but Regina, sometimes I do have to question myself about it."

Closing her eyes and resting her forehead against his, Regina sucked in a breath. She wasn't sure how they got into that subject but there they were, the moment of truth.

"I know I… am not very good at expressing my feelings or what's on my mind because most of the time I don't even know what that is or how to even explain it, but I do love you and this… us, is something I want. I know I never say it but you and the boys are the only thing that's real for me. Everything else is just a blur and I do try, trust me, but…"

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay." He hushed her, using his thumbs to wipe a few rebel tears that escaped her eyes.

But that didn't stop her and instead of halting there she decided to let it go. "I'm messed up, broken even and I feel like I'm holding it all together with one bobby pin that's about to break, but that doesn't mean I don't want this."

Moving even closer to her, Robin reached for her hands. "Then let me help you; let me in so that you don't have to go through all of this on your own. I think I've proven that I'll be here for you through thin and thick no matter what, so what else I can do to get that into that stubborn head of yours?"

"Nothing. You've been nothing but great to me, but it's just that I'm… scared of losing this, of having it all snatched away from me because that's what always happens in my life; when everything is going good something suddenly goes awfully wrong and I don't want that to happen. I think that's why I tend to pull away at times, like to keep myself from the loss."

Robin kissed the tip of her nose and then the corner of her mouth. "And is it working? Does keeping myself out helps you deal with it all?"

Regina shook her head no.

"Then let's do this instead; from now on no more holding back. Now that doesn't mean you have to tell me everything all at once, but I would really like if you felt like you could count on me more often. If you feel like seeing me, or if you need someone to vent or just to sit with you when you're feeling blue just let me know, no matter the day or the hour and I promise to be there."

"I can do that." And she wanted to, because holding back was not helping her case. True, talking to him wasn't going to solve her problems all at once but it could help to loosen up the tightness that sometimes settled in her chest.

"Good; now changing the subject a little I have to tell you something before it slips my mind. Tonight when we were about to close, a woman walked into the bar. She's apparently your new auditor and for some reason she wanted to talk with me."

Humming and furrowing her brows, Regina tilted her chin up. Yes, Belle told her a new auditor was on the way but why would she go to Robin?

"What did she want?"

Clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, Robin looked up. "Well first she wanted me to tell her about you. Then when I didn't say a thing she tried to get me into showing her around. She's British so she kind of assumed we would bond over that."

"What do you mean with _bond_?" Groaning and knowing already she wasn't going to like this new auditor, Regina rolled her eyes. "And what kind of person goes around asking strangers to show her around just because they are good looking?"

Laughing at what she said, Robin gave her a quick kiss. "Actually it was because I'm British, but it's good to know you think I'm good looking, I mean that is kind of the first compliment you ever throw my way."

Arching an eyebrow, she eyed him over. "You know you are, I mean you certainly are not ugly but that's not the point here, what is this woman's name?"

With a smile on his face, Robin moved a hand to her knee before letting it slide up until he reached her thigh. "I'm pretty sure it was Zelena. She looked friendly and I don't know, not long ago I was the new guy in town working hand in hand with the infamous Regina Mills so I get why she wants to know about you before meeting you."

"I don't think I'll like her."

His hand moved farther up until his fingers brushed the outline of her underwear. "Want to know who I like? You."

Squinting her eyes as he sprung forward to kiss her naked shoulder, she hummed. "I bet you do."

"Actually, much like you were a while ago, I'm also hungry. Are you going to help me with that?" As soon as he said the words, he searched for her mouth and kissed her, finding a way past her lips and swirling his tongue around hers.

"You want me to cook for you?" She asked, knowing full well that wasn't what he wanted.

"Not at all." He took off her short nightgown and threw it away, then after taking his own shirt and kicking his shoes off, he licked his lips. "What I want is better than food, I mean it's not avocado but hopefully it will satisfy you as if it was."

He kissed her after that, and when he made her lay back she laughed into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. For what was left of that night and then the entire weekend, she didn't think of what could go wrong, she just went with the current and enjoyed the ride…


	34. Chapter 34

"Will I see you tonight?"

Running the fingers of her right hand into the soft silky hair of the man that was tracing a warm path of soft kisses down her cheek and towards her neck, Regina sighed contently as the edge of her teeth bit into her full bottom lip.

As she asked that, she felt the raspy brush of Robin's stubble lightly graze the delicate skin right below her jawline and her eyes automatically fluttered shut.

He was deliberately teasing her, first because he knew how much she liked it when he treated the spot where his lips were touching now and second because he knew that she couldn't do anything to react to such provocation.

They were at her office after all, and on a early Friday afternoon so that meant that outside the closed door of her office, a normal day of work was taking place.

And still, he didn't seem to mind.

"You will… but, we can also _see_ each other right here, right now." His tone was low and raspy, and after saying that his lips pressed to spot in her throat where her pulse was starting to accelerate.

A soft gasp rolled out of her mouth and she threw her head back, giving him room so that he could keep working on her, his tongue venturing to run smoothly against her skin.

"Robin, you know we can't." And yet, her hand pressed to the back of his head, keeping him in place.

Sliding his hands down her hips and letting them circle around her so that he could get a handful of her ass, he lifted her up against him before taking her towards her desk, place where he put her down so that she could sit over it.

She wanted to laugh and maybe even scold him lightly at what he just did because it was inappropriate, but when he pushed himself right between her legs and slid her across the surface of the desk so that her body could flush against him, she just gasped.

Due to the way she wasn't fitting anymore into her normal work attire, Regina has chosen to wear a loose dress that day that was both comfortable and professional looking, but as she was now realizing, it was also ideal for the kind of activity Robin had in mind.

With it, she was able to feel the full extent of how much into the moment he was and she could feel it pushing insistently against the thin fabric of her underwear.

Blinking her eyes open, she sighed. "Robin, I'm serious here."

"I know," But his hands went underneath her dress anyway, running firmly over her thighs and settling against her waist. "I know…" He said again before pulling his face away from her so that he could look into her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Running the tip of her tongue over her lips, she blinked slowly. "No need to apologize. We just got a bit carried away."

He snorted, biting his lips. "You know, I remember a night I had you right here and well, you didn't mind much."

She laughed at his playful tone, her hand moving from his hair to his shoulder. He was still in place against her and she could feel his restless fingers moving against the skin beneath her dress. "Well, first of all you jumped me in that night when my mind wasn't in the right place and second, there was no one in the building."

"My mind isn't in the right place right now, I want you… so bad." With that said he leaned forward and captured her lips into a searing kiss and for all her words, she kissed him back with the same fervor.

Tongues wrestling, hands roaming and their breaths mingling. Regina just couldn't resist. Due to one thing or another, they hadn't been able to steal a moment to be alone like this since the previous week and apparently the lack of intimacy accumulated certain tension that that needed some sort of relief in that moment.

It would be easy and it would be quick, as they didn't even need to fully undress, he could just unzip his jeans and she just needed to move her pantie aside and that would be it.

He was hard, she could feel him as he grinded himself to her and the friction was surreal, it had her to and entirely different level and because she was so wet she knew he could settle deep into her without any kind of resistance.

It would be reckless, which wasn't much like her, but it would be so satisfying that part of her was willing to take the risk.

But… as tempting and rewarding as it all felt, she just couldn't.

Breaking away from the kiss, Regina pressed her forehead to his and cleared her throat. "Let's hold this for tonight." She breathed out, opening her eyes and staring into the blue of his heated glance. "Henry won't be home so maybe I can wait for you at your place?"

His nose wrinkled. "Little John is going to be there watching Roland… I don't think I want you all worked out and waiting for me with him in the house."

Moving her hands to his chest, she nodded. "My place then, and we'll have all the night to ourselves and all the house."

Squeezing her thigh, and then patting her lightly, he snorted. "That sounds good. Might even go out from the bar earlier."

"You do that."

He kissed her lightly, more tenderly than the heated kissing they were having earlier on and her hand went to his face. When he pulled away she smiled, looking at him and all the details of that face she loved so much.

She just couldn't help it, even thought they hadn't been able to consummate their need for one and other for the past several days, they were just having a great week, at least on a personal level.

She was sleeping the whole night, her mood outside the office was amazing and everything was just going so perfectly fine that it was easy to forget the unfounded fears that consumed her before, and she was sure that improvement was mostly because of him.

He just had this way of soothing her, of reassuring her and making her feel like everything was going to be just fine. His love simply roared louder than her demons and for that, she was grateful.

"I'm going to need a moment here before I go."

"Oh," She said as he reached down to his pants to accommodate his erection in a way that wouldn't bother him that much. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. We'll make up for lost time tonight."

Smoothing his hair so it didn't incriminatory look as if she has been running her hand through it and then using her thumb to wipe the red proof of their kissing from his mouth, Regina widened her eyes as she looked at him.

"I love you." She said because it was what she felt. She has been practicing at letting him know most of the things that would pop into her head and so far that was the most frequent and the easiest to say.

She has even said it in front of Henry the other day and even thought she internally cringed as soon as the word was out, she ended up feeling relieved. Especially when Henry playfully just rolled his eyes and muttered an 'Oh God' when Robin responded to the statement by pecking her lips softly.

Henry's acceptance of her relationship with Robin was a huge factor into her good mood as well, because soon they were all going to be living under the same roof and Henry adapting into this new life was something that has also been worrying her.

Running his hand over her hair and then grabbing her face, Robin smiled. "I love you too."

"You know, if anyone would have told me that you and I were going to end up like this when you first walked into this office, I would have thought they were out of their mind."

At her words, he laughed. "I know right, I was pretty sure you hated my guts."

Rolling her eyes at the memory of their time before the crash, she shrugged. "I didn't hate you… you did annoy me, but I wouldn't say that was hate. I'm a bit territorial when it comes to my work and well, everything in general and you coming here just felt like a bucked of ice thrown over my head. I guess I kind of hated the idea of you."

"Is that how it is with Zelena?"

Groaning at the mention of that name, Regina lowered her face and arched an eyebrow. "No, I really hate that woman."

And she did, only a week has gone by since she arrived to that office with her cheery behavior and high pitch voice and Regina already couldn't stand her. She just rubbed her the wrong way for some reason that she couldn't comprehend and she was sure she has made it obvious to everyone but the woman herself, because she kept pushing and pushing until it was driving Regina crazy.

"Can't stand her. And I think she knows and does all of her fake bubbly behavior just to piss me off. She brought donuts the other day for everybody, but she let them know they couldn't touch the Nutella one because she wanted to keep it for me."

Gasping a bit dramatically and covering his mouth with one of his hands, Robin did a double take. "What, oh tell me she didn't do that… she tried to be nice? Oh the audacity of that wicked woman."

Her lips snarled at his comment and she eyed him coldly. "Don't mock me, this is serious. I know you think this is me just being me, but that woman has a double agenda and I don't like it."

"So did you eat the donut?"

"Ugh, I did."

"Damn the woman." Smiling and kissing her once more, he cleared his throat. "You'll warm up to her, just like you did with me. Well not as much I hope."

"I highly doubt that. It's not the same."

"Of course not, I mean we are both British but I'm undoubtedly more handsome than her, or so I've been told."

Scoffing, she played with the button of his shirt and tilted her head to the side. He was being silly and she usually didn't encourage him when he got like that, but in that moment she thought that giving in a little could be good.

"You are, I mean you are definitely more appealing to all my senses."

His eyebrows shot up. "All of them?"

Shrugging as if it wasn't a big deal, she pouted her lips and nodded in affirmation. "I like watching you, because you definitely look good. You also feel good so I like touching you…" As if to prove her point, she lowered her hands to his stomach, sliding all the way to his pubic area and then back up to his chest. She did that at the same time that she buried her face in the crook of his neck. "You also smell… so good, and you taste even better." Her tongue ran below his ear and he once again squeezed her thigh, humming as she nibbled his earlobe. "And I love when you talk to me in that raspy way you have when it's just us. Makes me wet just listening to you."

"Jesus, Regina. Is this how you want me to wait until tonight?"

Smiling slyly, she hummed. "I'll make the wait be worth it."

"In that case I better get going, if I don't I won't be able to keep my hands off of you." Taking a step back, he ran a hand down his hair, but he did it without taking his eyes away from her.

"I'll walk you to the door." Sliding off the desk and standing firmly on her own two feet, Regina smoothed her dress before walking with him.

Once they were outside her office, Robin turned to her and placed his hands on her already visible pregnant stomach. "You want me to bring something tonight?"

"Just you, that's all I will need."

Snorting, he leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "You are a tease." He whispered so that the words wouldn't be overheard.

"Well look who's here. Mr. Robin Locksley himself."

Blinking slowly as the annoying voice of her new auditor echoed all through the corridor, Regina's jaw tensed. Then when the redhead walked straight to Robin and kissed his cheek as a greeting she almost did a double take, almost.

Yes, Robin told her how he met where last Friday night at his bar and how she came back on Saturday, but he never mentioned they were that friendly with each other.

"Fancy meeting you here, are you leaving already?"

Sending Regina an apologetic sideway glance and then taking a step back so that he could place his hand on his future wife's lower back, Robin cleared his throat. "Yes, just came to pay a quick visit to Regina here."

"How lovely." She said, smiling at both of them. "I mean with your schedules being so mixed up you have to take what you get and make the best of it, right?"

Biting her tongue but her face saying all she had to say, Regina watched as the woman waved them goodbye before she kept walking by.

"Regina… before you start-" Robin started to say.

"Don't say anything, I'm in a good mood and I don't want to ruin it, I'll see you tonight."

With that said she kissed him on the lips and then swirled around to go back into her office.

The rest of the day she spent it relatively okay, but when she was home alone and the day started to fade away, she decided that she didn't want to be there on her own.

For weeks, she has been kind of secluded, going from her house to work over and over again and it was time to break the routine. Sure, there was a reason she was evading going back to Robin's bar but it was time she faced it.

What happened to her there shook her, but that was in the past and in her present she wanted to go there and surprise Robin. Who knew? Maybe they could even go wild and do it on his office, with the bar buzzing in the background adding to the thrill.

Biting on her lips at the possibilities dancing inside her head, Regina took a shower and changed into something nice, doing her hair and make-up perfectly so that Robin would like it.

By the time she parked outside the bar, she wasn't thinking about Sidney and how he took her from there, but on Robin and how it was that she hasn't visited him since opening night.

He was definitely going to be surprised.

Smiling, she walked in, noticing that already at ten o'clock the place was packed. She knew that was good for business but through the crowd, she couldn't spot the man she came looking for so she headed straight towards the bar so that she could ask the person who could point her in his direction.

"Ruby." She said as a greeting and turning to her, the young woman beamed.

"Hey, Regina." She said casually, almost as if they were friends, which they were not.

Yeah she was close to Robin so she guessed that by association they could at least be considered as acquaintances instead of complete strangers so that was something.

"If you are looking for Robin you just missed him, he went to the office a minute ago."

"Thanks."

Giving her a thumbs up, Ruby went back into pouring drinks, dancing as a song she apparently liked started playing.

Pushing through the door that lead to the office and doing her best not to think of how she was walking the same way as that fateful night, she took in a deep breath, but before she could exhale said breath, she saw that at the end of the corridor there was Robin in the office, only that he wasn't alone.

From her vantage point she could see the right side of his body, hands placed on his hips and the weight of him favoring the side of his frame that she was able to see. She could also see the profile of a woman there with him, red hair cascading down her back as she talked and Robin just listened.

Swallowing on dry, she halted on her tracks, and when she saw the woman sprung forward so that she could almost throw herself at Robin she felt her blood drain down to her feet.

Sure, Robin caught her by the arms before she could kiss him as she obviously intended and she even heard him mutter a what the bloody hell are you doing, but the impact of such a scene left her frozen nonetheless.

She probably even made some kind of noise because Robin's head turned to the side so that he ended up looking at her.

She blinked, and the look on his face as he realized what she just saw was almost comical. "Regina."

Puffing out a breath and shaking her head, she swirled on her heels and walked out the same way she came in. She did it with her head held up high even when she could feel her eyes filling up with tears, fortunately, nobody seemed to notice.

She took cover in the crowd but when she made it out she had to angrily wipe at her eyes not to disgrace herself.

"Regina. That was not what it looked like."

She was almost by her car when she heard him but instead of replaying she fished for the key inside her purse, trying to ignore the way her hands were shaking.

"Regina, just listen okay." He said again, grabbing her shoulder to make her stop.

"Don't touch me." She hissed because she didn't want to deal with what just happened right there, she needed to cool off first because she knew herself and if she dealt with what she just saw with him, she was going to end up saying and perhaps doing things she didn't mean

He took his hands away and she turned to him. He looked distressed, that much she would give him, but that didn't take from what happened.

That was the time she should just leave, but regretfully she didn't.

"I know what you just walked into looked bad, but it's not how it looked."

Scoffing, she threw her head a bit back. "It wasn't what I saw, you say? Robin I saw her throwing herself at you in your office, if that wasn't what I saw then what was it?"

His hands ran nervously through his hair. "Alright, it was exactly that but I didn't know she was going to do it,; hell I didn't even let her."

"Why was she in your office?"

He breathed out. "She followed me there."

"Why? I mean why did she felt comfortable enough to follow you in a restricted area of your bar?"

"I don't know, okay, she just did and…"

"God, I'm so stupid." She mumbled as her eyes filled with tears once again, but because she didn't want him to see that she turned around and kept walking.

"Regina, love, let's talk this out."

Grinding her teeth at how he just called her, she faced him once more. Yes, she was upset and mad and definitely not acting with a clear mind but it was how it was.

"You lead her on? Because I find it hard to believe that just happened out of the blue."

"Of course I didn't."

"But you knew she was flirting with you and you still kept talking to her."

He gasped, shaking his head. "No, I… it wasn't like that."

"How would you feel like if you walked into me and Graham doing exactly what you two were doing?"

Opening his mouth and then closing it back shut, he set his vivid blue eyes on hers. "I did walk into you two getting too cozy and I made nothing out of it because I trusted you when you said there was nothing going on. Can't I get the same benefit?"

"That wasn't even close to this and me and Graham are not on the same category as this."

"You are right it's not the same, because you and him already have a history while I barely know this woman. Regina, you are blowing this out of proportion and you know it."

Knowing that he was probably right but unable to help it, she tilted her chin up defiantly. "You want me to blow this out of proportion?" Asking that, she took off the engagement ring and tried to give it to him.

His face turned somber and his eyes got a bit wider. "Don't be ridiculous, I'm not going to take that back."

Pushing the edge of her teeth with the tip of her tongue, she took a step forward and put the ring in his pocket. With that done and feeling like she was spiraling out of control, she walked away from him…


	35. Chapter 35

She has been sitting there for a while now. She couldn't exactly say for how long but it has been quite a lot; at least enough for the cold breeze of the night to settle so deep into her being that she could feel it in her bones, making them ache and in her muscles, making them stiffen.

It probably has been hours and it definitely felt like it, but she couldn't quite say for sure because the moonless sky was as dark now as it has been the moment she arrived so there was no noticeable indicator of the passage of time.

Maybe it has been less, who knew? Because if true be told it oddly felt like time has slowed down to a crawl, stretching her stop there into a surreal eternity that seemed to have no end.

But what was time anyway for her to care? It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go so could stay as little or as long as she wanted to, paying respect to her past and momentarily evading her present.

Lowering her still moistened eyes and flexing her numb fingers, Regina drew in a shaky breath.

It has been years since she last stepped into the cemetery to visit both Daniel's and her son's graves and that she has chosen to do so in such a fateful night has been the catalyst that unveiled a series of raging feelings she wasn't sure how to deal with.

There was the usual devastating sorrow, the rage and sense of impotence about how it all played out and of curse, the guilt that no matter what she did would always live with her.

It was her fault that they were in there, no longer among the living because if she wouldn't have pressed for Daniel to leave like burglars in the middle of the night the accident wouldn't have happened.

She has been impulsive… rash, and she didn't take in consideration the possible repercussions of her acts… and as it seemed, she still hasn't learn a thing about that.

That night she did the same thing with Robin. Sure, the situation was different and she highly doubted anyone would tragically die because of her actions, but she could as well loose him and all because she like always didn't think.

She overreacted, she was pretty much aware of that. Hell, she knew she was blowing things out of proportion as she was doing it but it was as if there was nothing she could do to stop it.

It has been as if her subconscious wanted to sabotage all the progress she has achieved with Robin and because she let it happen she screwed up. She ruined one of the only good things that she has found in life… and now on top of everything else she was feeling, there was regret… gnawing at her soul so she could only feel numb.

'_Apologize_.'

The word echoed loudly inside her head and she scoffed, closing her eyes as yet another tear escaped her, getting caught in her eyelashes before silently sliding down her cheek.

She wanted to think the voice was Daniel's and that in some mystical kind of way the universe wanted her to close the cycle of him by letting her know it was okay for her to find happiness again and that there was no reason to keep punishing herself for what happened.

She didn't have be her own worst enemy, she didn't have to sabotage her own damn life and she could let go of the guilt and the self-loathing she has been carrying all these years… she could… she should.

But as riveting as that sounded, things were not like that. That wasn't Daniel's voice speaking, it couldn't be because it has been so long since she last heard him talk that she couldn't even remember how he sounded. So no, it wasn't her lost love's voice the one that spoke to her, it was Robin's.

It even made sense for her conscience to mimic over his tone, because ever since day one, his has always been the voice of reason.

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, the pregnant woman got to her feet and smoothed her dress. She has been sitting there long enough for the mist of the night to damp the fabric of her clothes, amplifying the cold that had already taken residence in her.

That was why she decided that it was time to go, because it was getting too cold and because she needed to face the consequences of what she just did.

Who knew? Maybe the first step wouldn't even had to be hers, maybe by the time she came home Robin would be there, waiting for her and before he could even say a word she could apologize and explain how she hadn't mean it. She could lay it all out and just admit that she plain and simply overreacted.

After all, she saw most of what happened and he hadn't done anything wrong. Yes, she still wasn't sure how he put himself in such a compromising position and that was something they should discuss, but the reality of it all was that when Zelena tried to kiss him he stopped her.

She saw that with her own two eyes and yet… she still allowed herself to mess up. Now she needed to fix it.

With that in mind, she drove home, and upon pulling over the first thing she noticed was that he wasn't there. At least his car wasn't parked in his usual spot and taking in consideration how all the lights of her house were turned off, she could go ahead and assume that no, that he was not there.

For some reason, that hit her like a blow to the stomach because what if she screwed up so bad that he didn't want to know about her anymore? What if this was the last straw and that she finally and undoubtedly drove him away?

She couldn't blame him if that was the case because as it happened, he has put up so much with her and maybe he just reached his limit.

"Of course he did." She whispered while running her fingers through her hair and feeling how her eyes filled with tears once again.

She didn't like the notion of that, how would she? But deep inside she knew that Robin getting fed up would probably be for the best, as she surely was going to end up screwing one way or another sometime along the way.

He deserved better than what she was giving him and he could go and find it now, and if that didn't give her solace then she didn't know what would.

Refusing to entertain the idea that maybe she was overreacting once again and that if he wasn't there she could always call him or even go to him, Regina climbed out of her car and made it inside her house.

Maybe that was what she should do… if not calling him then at least sending him a text message telling him that she wanted to talk things over.

They didn't even have to met in that moment, but later on when she would be feeling more composed and when she could at least look half presentable.

"Where have you been?"

Gasping in surprise at how his voice drilled into her brain while her eyes automatically searched for him, Regina felt her phone slipping out of her grip so it could crash hard into the floor.

She barely noticed, because when she spotted him, sitting with his elbows resting over his knees while sitting at the edge of her sofa, she froze.

She hadn't been expecting him to be there, sitting in the dark and even though she knew this was the moment she needed to be the better person and apologize she just stood there.

It was dark so she couldn't quite see his expression, but judging by the timbre of his voice and the posture he had taken, she could say that he was not happy. "I think I asked you a question."

Blinking a few times at the severity of his tone, Regina shook her head, not really knowing what to say. "I was clearing my head a little."

His head dropped down between his shoulder blades for a moment before lifting it back again. "I was calling you, and I messaged you and I looked for you all over town. Do you have any idea…" He stopped there, snorting and covering his face with his hands for a second.

Regina just watched him, her still puffy eyes stinging with her unshed tears because the air felt so thick with animosity that she couldn't quite breathe. "My phone was turned off."

"I was about to call Graham." His tone, low and eerie was like nothing she has heard from him before and then, the words he spoke made her do a double take while her lips parted a little.

"You thought I was with him?"

He sighed out loud. "When I said Graham I meant it as if in Sheriff duty. Regina I thought… that sometime happened to you. I was worried because last time you disappeared like this… well, you know what happened. But I see you are fine so I'll go."

Watching him get up on his feet, she snapped out of her trance and reached for his arm. "Robin… I, can we talk?"

Having him closer now, Regina could see his face much clearer and yes, just like she suspected he didn't look content.

"Not now… Regina, really."

Dropping her hand away from him, she sucked in a breath and when he walked away she felt her chest constricting. He was leaving and she didn't do a damn thing to try and fix things.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you… or to do what I did…. I'm… really sorry. I wasn't thinking…"

For a second, she was sure he was going to disregard what she just said and just leave, but then he halted on his track, lifting a hand to his head so that his fingers could run through his hair.

"I don't want to loose you. Not over this."

Turning around so that he could face her, Robin leaned forward and grabbing her face he pressed a kiss to her forehead. He lingered for quite some time and then when he pulled away he didn't let go of her face.

"I love you, you don't even know how much. But I can't do this right now. We're both upset and that's a lethal combination."

She nodded, once again feeling her chest too heavy. She wanted to press for him to stay but the words were stuck at the back of her throat and she was sure that if she even attempted to talk she was going to choke and end up crying.

But apparently, talk was something she didn't have to do in that moment because from her face he dropped his hands to her arms and then he noticed.

"You're shaking."

As a response, Regina just blew out the breath she has been holding. Yes, she was trembling, partly because of the cold and then another part because she felt like she was holding so much inside of her that she might as well blow.

"I'm cold." She said simply.

From her arms, he dragged his hands so that he could touch her dress and finding it damp he fixed his eyes on hers. "Where were you?"

"Cemetery. I needed to think."

His brows furrowed a little and his lips pursed. It was as if he was debating on whether he should say something or perhaps if he should stay or if he should go. She wanted to ask him to please stay, but because she knew he would probably go anyway she remained in silence.

"Come on, let's get you out of those clothes and into something warmer."

She nodded again, knowing very well that she should take what she could, that's why she went with him to her bedroom and as he started to run a warm shower for her she just stood there, watching him.

When he finished with the preparations, he motioned her to go ahead and without saying a word she went in, and then when she was done with her nighttime routine he was still there.

Much like when she found him in her living room, he was sitting in the chiaroscuro of her room now, apparently waiting for her.

"Alright… you wanted to talk so talk."

Caught unprepared but feeling more at ease since she was warmer and relieved that he wanted to talk, Regina pushed the inside of her lips with her tongue.

She couldn't remember having to apologize much in her life so she didn't really know how to start or how to even do it.

"What I did… was a shitty thing to do. I didn't give you the benefit of the doubt like I should have done and I'm sorry about that."

"Are you, really? I mean sorry?"

Her eyes shifted as if in thinking. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugged, keeping his eyes on her. "I don't know, you tell me."

Lifting her arms a little and then letting them drop to her sides, Regina closed her eyes.

Couldn't he see that this was hard enough on her already as it was? She was doing the best she could, true, but it was just that she was still learning how to open up to him and pushing her was going to make her want to shut off once again

She apologized, she told him she didn't want to lose him so what else did he want?

"I don't know what else you want me to say."

Lowering his eyes, Robin took in a deep breath as that was obviously not the answer he wanted to hear.

"When I came here, looking for you, I did it with the intention of apologizing until I had no breath left in me, and that was for something I didn't even do because trust me, Regina, I didn't do anything for you to react like you did. But I was ready to compromise because that's how much you mean to me."

At his words, Regina just blinked, wrapping her arms around her midsection as her eyes refused to leave his.

"Then when I realized you were nowhere to be found I got worried out of mind and I could no longer care about how… ready you were to throw this away as all I wanted you was for you to be safe."

"I'm sorry." She said almost in a sob because that he could be worried was something that didn't even cross her mind.

"I was relieved when you came here, I really was. But I was also angry… I still am, because Regina what you did… was really not fair."

Saying that, he took out of his pocket the engagement ring she gave back to him and swirled it between his fingers.

"I get it, what you saw upset you and in a way you were in all your right to feel that way. But giving this back without even listening to what I had to say was like throwing in my face everything we've been through, everything I feel."

Biting on her lips, she sniffed, listening and shaking her head because that wasn't what she meant to do.

"To me it was like you just found the perfect excuse to bail out of something you've been trying to get away from for the longest time and it made me mad, first with myself because the possibility that this is too much too soon for you is something I've been trying to turn a blind eye to and then with yourself for not having the decency to say it like that to me face."

Regina opened her mouth to deny what he just said, but then when it hit her she clasped it back shut.

"Is that what you were trying to do? To break things off?"

Swallowing on dry and feeling her tears flow, she shrugged. "Unconsciously? In a way, probably…"

She heard him draw in a shaky breath, as if what she just said broke him inside and if anything, that made her feel like the lowest scum in earth. That's why she hurried to explain herself.

"I am… my own worse enemy, and part of why I am this way is because I'm so full of these raging feelings that keep tormenting me. I don't even know how to explain it or how to even understand it myself but…"

She looked up to her ceiling, trying to make sense out of all her babbling.

"I think I have this severe case of self-loathing that doesn't allow me to be completely happy. That's why I always screw everything I touch, because deep inside I don't think I deserve good things and I sabotage myself. But I don't want to do that anymore, not with you."

Drawing in a breath and realizing that she was by then fully crying, Regina wiped at her eyes. She did it just as she saw him stand up and walk to her.

"Then just don't." He said when he was in front of her, then he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her to him, her face snuggled to his chest while his fingers buried into her hair.

"I wish it was that easy." She said, breathing into his scent and finding that comfort she always got from him.

"Regina, you'll be as happy as you'll allow yourself to be. I can help you and I want to. But if at the end it's something you don't work for then you won't get that far."

"I know."

His hands lowered to the nape of her neck, the pad of his fingers slowly brushing against her skin. For a few minutes that seemed to have dragged into an eternity they just remained like that, silently holding to each other.

"Nothing happened with Zelena. I didn't kiss her, or lead her on or anything of the kind. First because I don't want anyone but you and second… well, I don't even need a second reason. Regina, when I said that I love you and that I want to spend my life with you I meant it, so trust me when I say I would never do anything to jeopardize what we have."

Pulling away from him so that she could look at him in the eye, Regina nodded. She believed him and why wouldn't she? She trusted the man with her own life.

"Okay."

Squinting his eyes, he frowned. "Just… okay?"

She hummed in affirmation. "I trust you. I mean I don't like the idea that she though she could do that… but I believe you."

Chewing on his lips, he nodded. "Okay."

"You still mad?"

His eyes danced over her face. Yes, he wasn't his usually merry self, but the severity of his features were more relaxed now so she wondered if they were good. "I should."

And she knew he should, but still she ventured to ask. "Can I have my ring back?"

Scoffing and arching an eyebrow, Robin reached for the ring and grabbing her left hand he put it where it belonged. "You can't do what you did again. If something bothers you we talk about it until it's fixed, but you can't do this again."

"I won't."

Before he could add to that or before he could say he was going to leave, Regina pressed her mouth to his.

It was something brief that didn't quite get a response from him. He just let her do it, and when she pulled apart she had to search into his eyes to see if she could find a hint out those blues that would tell her that indeed everything was going to be fine.

She wasn't sure if she found what she was looking for but when she closed the distance that separated them to kiss her once more, he kissed her back.


	36. Chapter 36

'_Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.'_

Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath that was supposed to subdue all the crazy ideas that were trying to disrupt the blissful state of nirvana she has managed to acquire over the weekend, Regina Mills recited the words over and over inside her head while she impatiently tapped a pen hard against her lips.

Her intentions were for the meaning of _Mark Twain's_ words to stick into her psyche, for them to drill into her brain so that maybe she could finally understand why it was so important for her to remain calm and act accordingly to her position.

She was the Mayor of Storybrooke, a position that required her to be neutral… graceful to a certain extent and definitely levelheaded. So no, as the top conservator of peace and order in town, she couldn't let her acts to be ruled by emotion. No, she couldn't act on impulses and let alone on personal vendettas.

Doing so would be extremely unprofessional from her part and as a rule, that was something she evaded at all cost and that was why she was trying so desperately hard to keep calm… to be the bigger person.

Besides, it wasn't like harboring so much repressed ire could be good for the baby so the best she could do was to inhale peace, and then slowly exhale the tension.

Inhale, and exhale…

"Did you call for me?"

Blinking her eyes open as the annoyingly high-pitched tone of her new auditor came to disrupt to safe sanctuary she was mentally trying to create inside her mind, Regina watched as the redhead happily entered her office without even knocking and she had to squeeze the pen between her fingers a little tighter to keep herself from snapping at the abrupt interruption.

Yes, she has called for the woman, but that has been out of necessity rather than the desire to see her and well, a knock would have helped her prepare better to be able to bear her presence.

Zelena… she couldn't even begin to count the reasons why she didn't like the woman, but the biggest of them all resided in a personal matter and because of her position as Mayor she just couldn't take it out on her professionally.

What would she say or do anyway? The cliché stay away from my man line? To call Central Government and report her as the sleazy slut that she was?

No, she couldn't do any of that so she better just gear up for battles she could win. Like the one she had under her sleeve; it was a good one she just found out thanks to Belle pointing it out to her a little less than an hour ago and seeing it as her golden ticket, she was sure as hell going to use it.

Putting the pen down over her desk but keeping her eyes set on the redhead, Regina decided to go straight with it, as there was no reason why to sugarcoat things.

"The files you took out this morning, where are they?"

As she sat there, in front of her desk, Zelena Green shifted a little on her chair while a hand went to run nervously through her long hair. The smile on her face never faltered though. "The files?"

Arching both eyebrows as if she couldn't get what was so hard to understand, the brunette leaned back into her executive chair, her hands automatically setting in the small baby bump on her stomach.

"You went to Belle and asked for some files to audit this morning. Did you finish with them? Because I need them, right now."

Clearly uncomfortable and probably knowing she has been caught, Zelena's smile grew a bit wider while she momentarily looked down to her hands. "I don't have them right now… but I can get them to you before my shift is over."

Biting the inside of her cheek, Regina knew she had the woman right where she wanted her, up against a wall and with nowhere to go. "You don't have them. What is that suppose to mean?"

Zelena's eyes were on hers and she saw in them that she knew there was no point in lying. "Mr. Gold came by and he needed to check on them…"

"Gold? You mean to tell me that you gave the documents of an ongoing government contract to Gold?"

"They are public records." Zelena hurried to say.

"So let me see of I get this." She said in a stern voice but trying to keep her calm and poise. "You asked, for those files so you could audit them and then somehow Gold casually went curious about that specific contract and you just gave them to him?"

"He just… he needed…"

Lifting a hand in the air before the woman could keep talking, Regina shook her head no.

Now sure, she would be the first to admit that the contract they were actually talking about was one that was already on the way and that everything went according to law and protocol, so that Gold had the files didn't affect her in the sightless; but the fact that Zelena took the liberty of just give them to him of all people not only irked her, but also increased the dislike and distrust she had in her.

"I'm not sure if you are aware of the duties you are supposed to carry around here but the handling of contracts and deeming what can or will be made known to general public are definitely not among them."

"This is because of Robin, isn't it?" Zelena asked, tilting her head to the side.

Regina didn't even blink at the question. She just wondered how an accent that she seemed to love in her future husband could be so annoying in this woman. But then again, she was sure it wasn't the accent per se but the person who carried it.

"This is about you using your position in this office to mishandle information and creating a huge breech in the reliability invested in you. It is about the mediocrity of how you perform your duties because Ms. Green, a file that you take out of here and goes missing just shows you are doing something wrong."

"It isn't missing, Gold has them."

"I don't care if the Queen of England has them herself, they are supposed to be here in my desk right now. If Gold or anyone needs to check on them then they have to follow the correct channels and those are not through you."

Red faced, Zelena clenched her jaw. "You'll have them back within the hour."

"I definitely hope so."

For a second, the other woman remained silent, but Regina could see the anger building in her eyes and she wasn't going to lie, she liked it.

The corner of her lips even involuntarily curved up in a satisfactory smile and if anything, that made the woman burst.

"You are making this personal, and all because you are jealous that Robin clearly likes me. It must be a breath of fresh air now that I'm here for him, it's like he finally found something he has been missing. I think that's why we bonded immediately."

Unable to help it, Regina scoffed. She knew what the woman was doing and she wasn't going to fall for it. She wanted her to doubt Robin and that was something she couldn't afford.

Yes, she and the father of her unborn child had talked and fixed things over the weekend and in a way she could say that everything was right… but the truth was that all of it has been so recent that there was still certain soreness to the whole thing and doubting him in that moment would be like taking a thousand steps backward.

"Ms. Green, you're embarrassing yourself now so just… go take a walk and retrieve those files."

Getting to her feet before sending her a heated glance, Zelena walked to the door. It was when she was about to open it that Regina called her, almost as an afterthought.

"Two things before you go; first, just so you know, I'll have to inform central government of this. Second, stay away from Robin because trust me, you really don't want me to turn this personal. You wouldn't like it."

Twisting her lips as her face turned a crimson red, the new auditor turned around and left.

Regina just watched her leave, a triumphant grin on her face as her tongue ran smoothly over the edge of her teeth.

"Well that didn't go half as bad as I expected." She said out loud while her hands still rubbed her stomach.

And no it didn't, and she was glad because she hadn't wanted Zelena to ruin such a special day. She was having an ultrasound in less than one hour, an ultrasound where they would hopefully find out the sex of their baby.

Thinking about that, Regina checked her phone to see if she had any message from Robin. They agreed that he was going to pick her up to take her to the appointment and so far she has heard nothing from him.

Yes, it was still early but she was feeling a bit antsy, first because she was excited about the sonogram and also because her talk with Zelena had left her blood pumping and she didn't think she could stay there sitting and doing nothing.

She needed to move and do things and…

Before she could continue with the thought, her phone started to ring and she immediately went to answer it. It was Robin, so skipping a greeting she started to talk.

"You are here? Please tell me you are here."

A raspy chuckle came out of him, the sound waves traveling from her phone directly into her ear. "Define here, because where I'm at is definitely not where you at."

Groaning but grabbing her handbag and heading out the door, Regina rolled her eyes. "Don't talk in riddles. I can't deal with that right now."

"Rough day?"

Walking out of her office and motioning Belle that she was leaving, Regina smiled. "Actually no, it is a good one. The best."

"Why can't I detect sarcasm in your voice, what's going on?"

"Nothing is going on. Are you here, yes or no?"

"I'm parked right in front."

"Good." Hanging up and keeping her chin up as she moved through the lobby of the building, she opened the door that would lead her outside and as she has been expecting, Robin was there.

He was still in the car with the phone still in his ear so before he could climb out and do a demonstration of his chivalry, she hopped in.

"Did you just hang up on me?"

Not bothering to answer and without properly sitting on the passenger seat, Regina reached for him and kissed him full on the lips.

It made Robin hum, probably in surprise as she was usually hesitant when it came to public displays of affection; but when she pushed her tongue into his mouth he received her gladly, one hand going to the back of her head while his face tilted so that the kiss to go even deeper.

On her knees and leaning into him, she swept her tongue against his as her hands settled on his shoulders, that way they kissed for a few consecutive seconds, but then when she deemed it was enough she pulled away, but not before biting lightly his bottom lip.

"Well hello to you." He said huskily as one of his hands settled on her stomach. But then as if it was a misjudgment from his part he slid the hand up so he ended up momentarily grabbing one of her breasts.

Lowering her eyes and following the movement of his fingers tracing the outline of her dress, Regina bit on her lips, but then when he dropped the hand away she looked into his eyes and lowered her own hand into his groin, searching and finding certain part of his anatomy he kept hidden inside his jeans.

"Someone woke up playful today." Robin said with a smile on his lips.

Regina blinked, rubbing her palm against the not so discreet bulge between his legs. "Hmm, seems like someone is not the only one."

Now yes, they had spent the weekend together and after the not so stellar drama Zelena provoked, they even made love, languidly and without hurries, as if trying to get the hang of each other after their emotions went from high to low.

But that has been Saturday morning and it was Monday in the afternoon and her emotions were on an entirely different level right now.

She was hyped, after getting an upper hand on Zelena without completely losing her temper, she felt like her blood was pumping in her ears and she felt full of energy, like she could take on anything.

"That's entirely on you. I came here with the chaste intentions of getting you to the doctor and you just jumped on me."

"I didn't jump on you, I just kissed you." She replied, taking her hand away and sitting properly. "Simple as that."

But she did so with a sly smile, her eyes wandering down his body so she could take a look at his reaction to her. It made her feel good because even if she wasn't doubting him, it reassured her that he wasn't even remotely getting tired of her.

"I'm not complaining, you can kiss me like that whenever you like to. Actually, I'm glad you're in such a good mood because there's something I have to tell you and I have a feeling you won't like it."

Furrowing her brow, Regina tensed her jaw a little.

"Now it's actually not that bad if you come to think about it." He started to say as he drove away. "It's part… just remember it's part of the cycle of life, we all went through it and-"

"For Christ's sake just say it already." She said impatiently, but when he grabbed the steering wheel a bit harder and tried to send her way a smile her eyes squinted and she tried to stare the truth out of him.

"What did you do?"

"Me? I haven't done anything." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Ohh you're going to flip, I know it. Maybe we should do this after the appointment. Even better after I feed you."

"Robin." She said in a warning, her tone serious and her playful mode gone. For some reason she thought about what Zelena said and biting her tongue not to screw up, she sighed loudly.

"It's Henry. He came to me and… okay first of all I have to remind you that he is a good kid and he has never given you trouble and, that he came to me to talk rather than going to Emma so that's has count for something."

"Henry?" She asked almost dumbly as at least a dozen scenarios started to run through her mind. "What is it?"

"He kind of has a girlfriend-"

"A what?" Doing a double take and turning fully to him, Regina saw how he shut his mouth and sucked the inside of his cheeks to keep himself from saying more. "My son has a what?"

"A girlfriend."

Shocked to say the least, Regina scoffed, running a hand through her hair and using the other to search for her phone.

"What are you doing?" Robin said as he leered at her.

"What do you mean with what am I doing? I have to talk to him. He's thirteen, he can't have a girlfriend." She snapped.

Grabbing the phone out of her hands, Robin laughed. "I knew you were going to flip. Listen, he came to me looking for advice because he wants to tell you, but he knows you are most likely than not get a little on the dramatic side and he doesn't want to create a fuss."

"He's thirteen, he's just a kid!"

"He's a teen, and even if you are completely unaware of it, it's perfectly normal for a boy his age to date."

"Oh my God."

She groaned while covering her face with her hands. She wasn't ready for this… not her sweet little boy. Just until last night she has been preparing him chocolate milk before bedtime so how did he went from that to having a girlfriend?

And his room, he still had toys in there and… and he spent his days playing video games or reading comics so how…

"You say Emma doesn't know this?" She asked while dropping her hands to her lap.

Robin shook his head no while keeping his eyes on the road ahead. "He wants to tell you first."

Feeling a small victory over that one and realizing she couldn't be the overbearing mother Cora has been, she swallowed on dry.

"Okay." She breathed in, trying to keep calm. "Okay… it's okay I can, he can talk to me. I won't flip."

"You sure?"

She nodded, looking out the window. She said nothing more after than, and not because she had nothing to add, but just because her mind was speeding.

It wasn't until she was at her doctor's office, laying in the examination chair with her stomach exposed and her skirt riding so low she might as well take it off that she basically snapped out of it.

"That's a lively little baby you have there, won't stop moving."

Wrinkling her nose and thinking that this baby would probably be as hyper as Roland, Regina looked at Robin. "Those are all your genes."

He winked at her, reaching for her hand and interlacing his fingers with hers while the doctor pointed at the monitor to show them all the parts of their baby. The head and how it keep rubbing it's hand in it's face, the little feet that kept kicking at nothing in particular and the little fingers and toes that kept wriggling.

The only thing the baby wasn't showing was the sex and that was because it kept moving so much the doctor couldn't get a clear imagine.

"I think I already know by the small glimpses I got but I don't want to tell until I get a clear shot."

"It's a girl, isn't it?" Robin asked sure of himself and the doctor smiled, but before he could answer the door busted open and a nurse rushed in.

"Doctor, he have an emergency."

"I'll be there in a minute. Madame Mayor, if you excuse me, I know you probably have more pressing things to do other than just waiting here so if you have to go that would be all."

"Oh, I can't get out of here without knowing the sex. We can wait."

"Sure." Robin said and after apologizing, the Doctor hurried out.

"You really think it's a girl?" She asked because that was low key what she has been hoping for. Not that she wouldn't like a boy but she needed a balance. She couldn't be the only woman in the house.

"Yes." He said, getting to his feet as she changed positions so she could sit. "So… how long would you think this emergency would take?"

Her eyebrow rose as she set her eyes on his. "Why, you have more important business to attend to than being here?"

Walking around so that he could stand in front of her, Robin pressed the button that made the adjustable part of the examination chair retreat underneath it so that it would remain a simple chair instead of the extended one where she has been laying. Once he did that he reached for the foot rests and pulled them forward.

"Not precisely… I was just wondering if you were still feeling playful… you know, while we wait."

She scoffed, but when he grabbed her hips to drag her almost to the edge of the chair she gasped.

"What do you think you are doing?" She asked, but when he grabbed her left foot first and placed it on the leg rest before doing the same with the right one, she did nothing to stop him, and when he slid his hands underneath her skirt to run them all the way to her hips, she just bit her lips.

With those few movements she ended up with her legs spread, her underwear in full display and Robin conveniently standing between her thighs.

"Nothing, just taking a look at this chair thing. For scientific reasons, obviously." But as he said that, he moved his hands to her inner thighs, giving them a squeeze before going a bit farther up until his knuckles could brush against the crotch of her panties.

The touch sent a shiver up her spine, but still she cleared her throat and arched an eyebrow. "Are you aware that we are not home?"

"I'm aware that you look very appealing to all my senses right now." As if to show her, he pushed his own hips forward, grinding his groin against her and making her feel that he was indeed enjoying himself.

He has hard, very much so, and the roughness of his jeans against the sensitive part her panties were barely concealing made her gasp.

She parted her lips as if to tell him to stop acting like a horny teen, but when he sat on the low stool the doctor kept around so that he could perform his examinations, she closed her eyes for a second to see what he would do.

Not like she really didn't know, but when she felt the way he pushed her panties a little to the side so that he could fully expose her, she shook her head no.

"Robin, the doctor is going to walk right in and how would this look?"

"I don't know, but what I'm looking at right now looks just perfect." He used his fingers to part her folds, then once in she felt how the pad of one of his digit ran from her perineum and slowly up, brushing over her slit, gathering the wetness in her and then moving up to her clit.

"You're crazy." She whispered when he repeated the motion, going down, and then back up.

"It looks good, it feels good… now I just need to check if it is as appetizing as it looks." With that said, he replaced his fingers with his tongue and ever so slowly, he dragged it all over her sex.

Placing a hand over her mouth to cover the moan that almost escaped her, Regina shivered, and while her mind was screaming at her that she shouldn't be letting him do that in the doctor's office, she just couldn't help but to want a little bit more.

It was just that what he was doing felt so damn good, the combination of his tongue teasing at her flesh as his mouth covered all there was of her was insane. It made her back arch and the small hairs along her arms stand on edge.

"Robin, we can't… do this here." She panted when he swirled his tongue over the nub she usually kept hidden between her legs.

"Hmm." He hummed, the vibration of the act making her hips buck forward and against his mouth.

He took that moment to push his tongue right into her and she almost lost in right there, but before the sensation could fully get a hold of her he pulled away and lifted from the chair.

"It tastes even better than what it looks." To show her, he leaned into her and kissed her, letting her taste herself out of his tongue.

"You lost your mind." She said against his mouth, but as soon as the words were out she kissed him harder, wrapping her arms around his neck so that she could make the kiss go deeper and longer.

He provided, exploring the cave of her mouth as if he has never done it before. His tongue dancing along with hers, tangling together in that sensuous way she loved of his kisses.

It was as they kissed that she felt that he has somehow liberated himself from his jeans and now his erection was wild and free against her.

"No." She said. "Not here."

"I'll put it in just once, just to feel you. I'll behave after that, promise."

Closing her eyes and trying to use her ear to detect if there was someone approaching, Regina chewed on her lips. "Okay but just once."

With her approval, Robin slowly started to slide in. He did it extremely slow, making the delicious stretch of his erection parting a way into her very core feel like sweet torture.

It made her purr despite herself and when he was as deep as he could go, she wrapped her legs around him and held him in place for a few seconds.

Her heart was beating hard, her skin felt on fire and she wasn't sure if she wanted to leg go of him.

"You feel so good." He whispered and he felt alive inside of her, his girth and the friction of the pants he still have on making her skin feel hypersensitive.

"Let's go the bathroom." She said, knowing that if the doctor came back it would be easier to explain they went to stretch for a little while.

Not having to be told twice, Robin pulled out of her and before helping her accommodate her clothes, he kissed her once more.

Then, when he himself was as presentable as he could get they sneaked out of the office and headed into the bathroom down the hallway.

"I can't believe I'm letting you do this." She started to say but before she could say more, he made her walk towards the sink and positioning himself behind her, he lifted her skirt all the way to her back.

"I haven't done anything yet, love." And apparently he haven't yet but he planned to, because before sliding her panties down her legs and putting them somewhere safe, he made her bent a little so that her ass was upturned towards him, then he drove right back into her sex.

Gasping at the friction the new position provoked, Regina watched her reflection through the mirror, noticing that her cheeks were tinged with red, that her lips were parted so that she could breath through her mouth and that her eyes were dark and wild.

She looked as if she was in a complete bliss and in a way, she couldn't keep her eyes away.

"See how stunning you are? Could look at you all day like that."

Pressing the tip of her tongue to the corner of her lips, Regina moved her eyes to his reflection. She couldn't see him so well since he was behind her, but of what she could see his eyes were as wild looking as her own.

"That feels good." She managed to say as his thrusts keep coming harder and deeper. He was holding hard on her hips as he slammed into her and she had to keep her own hands firm against the sink not to lose her balance.

He wasn't tender about what he was doing but he wasn't being too harsh either, just keeping a pace that was apt to make her come undone very soon.

It made her feel all sorts of things, on the brim of loosing it, excited about how they were not supposed to be there having sex and delirious as each thrust send all sort of pleasure all over her body.

"You're so wet and hot."

"That's for you." She moaned. "That's what you do to me."

"Fuck, Regina." He hissed as he pulled out.

For a second she though he was finished and that for that time, he decided to finish outside of her, but her confusion was cleared when he made her turn around so that she could face him.

Once like that, he lifted her up against the sink and kissing her hard, he penetrated her sex, his engorged erection finding its way back home.

Moaning into his mouth and liking the way his hands settled on her ass to grind himself to her, Regina kissed him back, almost desperately. She kissed him until she couldn't breathe or think and until the pressure was too much and her womb exploded in all directions.

Holding to him, she moaned and shivered all over, and sensing how he was following her in her release, she spread her legs a bit more and received all he had to give.

"Shit." He groaned into her mouth, his hips pushing so hard into her she though he was going to become one with her.

When he was finished, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her shoulder.

"I think I ruined my own bloody pants."

Chuckling and glad he at least saved her underwear, Regina saw how he slid out of her and opened the faucet, cleaning himself as best as he could. He did the same with her, helping the essence of his desire pour out of her until he believed there was no more of it.

Once done he helped her down and kissed her. "You're amazing."

"And crazy, Robin… this was…"

"It was amazing, let's leave it at that."

She agreed, because now that it was done she couldn't go around regretting it. She just hoped nobody noticed.

When they were presentable, they walked out the same way they came in, only that when they went back to the office the doctor was still nowhere to be found.

"See, we could have finished here and no harm would have come."

"Sorry I took so long." Came the voice of the doctor all of a sudden and both Robin and Regina startled. "Believe it or not I just delivered a baby in the lobby. It's amazing the things that can come out of nowhere."

"Indeed they are."

"Wow." Regina said, widening her eyes and refusing to look at Robin. Somehow, she felt like laughing and she knew that if she looked at him she was just going to do it.

"Well back to business."

Already in position, Regina laid down and after pouring the cold gel on her stomach once more, the doctor went back at doing the sonogram.

"What did you do to this baby, it's totally passed out now. Look at that, it even has a thumb on its mouth."

Robin coughed and Regina had to bit hard on her lips and close her eyes for a second. "I think it got tired out."

"Seems so… well there it is, you see that over there?"

Blinking her eyes open but not really getting what she was looking at, Regina shook her head. "What is it?"

"That's the sex of your baby."

"It doesn't look like a… thing, so it a girl?" Robin asked and much as he did before, he reached for her hand.

"It is a girl, so congratulations, now you can go planning for this baby…"


	37. Chapter 37

"This is ridiculous."

As soon as the statement escaped through her lips so that the sound waves of the words could travel all over her office, Regina Mills grabbed the magazine she has been eyeing and pushed it far from her, almost as if the material in there was offensive to all her senses.

In a way it was. Maybe not offensive but it was the kind of thing in life she couldn't get into… it was not her, it wasn't what she wanted and she couldn't bear looking at it a second longer.

"How about this one? I think it looks nice; chic and modern… I guess. That's what it says at last."

Leering sideways so that she could take a look at how Robin meant to show her a picture in another one of the magazines, Regina planted her elbows over her desk and then lifting her hands in the air, she buried her hands into her palms and sighed in frustration.

"Okay, yeah you're right… it's ugly, too much pink."

Shaking her head, the dark-haired woman bit hard into the inside of her cheek while her eyes remained tight shut. No, she didn't think any of the pictures were ugly, in fact they were all pretty; ranging from classic to modern and from bold to subtle, there was something in there for everyone… but it was just that what they were doing wasn't something she felt comfortable doing.

"It's not that. It's just…" Letting her hands drop so that she could take a look at how he kept going through the magazines, she sighed again. "I don't know if this is what I want."

At her words, Robin's head lifted up immediately and his eyes settled deep into hers. "What do you mean you're not sure?" He asked slowly and it took her a second to understand why he was suddenly looking confused and in a way afraid. "You are having second thoughts?"

"No." She hurried to say, reaching for his hand so that she could give him a reassuring squeeze. "It's not that I'm having seconds thoughts; Robin, I do want to marry you…. I just."

Her eyes closed for a second so that she could gather her thoughts. She knew what it was, but she didn't know how to let it all out without coming off dumb or maybe even pathetic.

"I don't know if you noticed this but, I'm pregnant." She said flatly, stating one of the things that were bothering her about the whole wedding thing.

Furrowing his brows, Robin chuckled. "Oh so that's what's going on in your stomach, jeez, thanks for letting me know as I just thought were growing apples in there."

"Don't be a smartass. I'm serious here. This whole thing, the wedding, the dress, the guess list… I don't want to do it this way. I don't want to walk down an isle while the whole town watches in morbid curiosity and I… do you know brides wear a white dress to represent their pureness? I'm pregnant, so I'm far from pure."

"Okay…" He began to say, slowly as if he was still absorbing the information given.

"Then this looking through wedding magazines is something I shouldn't be doing with you. This is something I should be doing with a friend or my mother. But the closest thing I have for a friend lives in another country and we haven't spoken in more than a year so it's not like I can call her an invite her over to decide what's best between coral pink or crepe pink, even though I hate pink and… and well, my mother is crazy and I wouldn't want her in my wedding or near my baby so I just-"

"Hey." Robin said as he moved his chair closer to hers, cradling the back of her head between his hands so that she was forced to look at him in the eye. "Slow down, let's go through this in parts, okay?"

Regina nodded as she got lost into the soothing blue of his stare. On his part, Robin smiled, sliding his hands down her shoulders and then slowly along her arms so that he could reach her own hands to grab them.

"Let's start with this simple question. Do you want a wedding or not? Because we can always just do a civil marriage."

"I don't know. I mean I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of a wedding but, I don't want something big where everyone is invited. I know Belle says it will be good for my candidature since we kind of reached celebrity status around here and all that but I don't feel comfortable with that."

"How about something smaller, like a private ceremony? Just you, me, the boys and the witnesses."

Blinking slowly, she wrinkled her nose. That was something she could go along with because it was the way she has visualized her wedding before Belle came with all the magazines and the ideas of making the whole thing a town affair. But she also needed to consider what Robin wanted.

"What about your friends?"

Clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, Robin shrugged. "This is about you, I don't care if we end up marrying in Vegas with an Elvis impersonator walking you down the isle or even in a drive-thru. I just want to marry you, however it ends up being. The ceremony, who attends and what's to eat is the last of my concerns here."

"What if I just want to eat cheeseburgers and fries and the ceremony?" She asked that in a snort because she has developed an unhealthy obsession with the damn burgers and he liked to constantly tease her about it.

"Then we'll eat the bloody cheeseburgers."

Scoffing, she leaned forward to kiss his lips softly. It would be corny for her to say it out loud but she still couldn't grasp the idea of how come she found someone so perfect for her. She has never considered the possibility of ever finding love again and then he came, breaking all her walls and making it all so easy…

"I don't even have a witness." She said as a matter of fact. She had no family other than her mother and she wasn't in that level of closeness with any of the residents of Storybrooke, so her pride wouldn't allow her to ask someone she wasn't close with to such a personal thing.

"How about Belle?"

Regina groaned. "She's my assistant, I can't ask her that."

"She won't say no, and it's not like she is not already invested in this. You know who she inserted herself as our unofficial coordinator so why not use her? Anyway, we'll figure that one out later, let's talk about the dress thing. I know it's up to you but I really, like really like the idea of you walking to me in a white dress… looking stunningly beautiful as always and just about to be completely mine."

"Yours? I say down with the damn patriarchy culture." She scoffed, but when he moved forward to kiss her again, she didn't complain. She even angled her face in the right direction so that he could deepen the kiss, letting his tongue slowly caress hers into action.

Moving her hands into his hair, Regina allowed her fingers move around as her mind little by little started to get a little compromised with they way he kissed her, long and deep and stealing all the air out of her lungs so he could breath it as his own.

The whole thing, the kiss and the way his hands moved to her hips and then slowly up her ribcage, made her go back in memory lane so that she could remember the night he found her there, working late.

It has been after they came back from the Island, when she told him they couldn't be together and even though, he has walked in there as if he owned the place, kissing her like never before, claiming her with that simple act and yes, she should have known since that moment, as he slowly had his way with her that she was going to forever fall at his will.

It was her destiny, no matter what, and if he wanted her in a white dress then she was going to get the best one and surprise him with it.

Only by picturing his face in her mind during that moment, Regina kissed him deeper. Getting that insistent sensation that would settle down between her legs every time he was this near, kissing her so good.

It was inevitable, she was in a point during her pregnancy where every touch was intensified; a simple kiss would get her mind running wildly and a soft caress in the right spot was enough to set her skin on fire.

Then there was the memory of that fateful night, of how he has lifted her up into the desk so they could have sex, raw and feral… and right in her office, the same office they were now.

It would be easy to get a repeat… she would just have to luck the door and be quiet.

But, before her mind could keep getting the kind of ideas that could make her get in trouble, Robin pulled away and she was forced back to reality.

"We talked about this already, and I already stated that you are as much mine as I am yours. Us getting married will just make it official."

Wanting to keep herself grounded instead of falling victim to her hormones, Regina ran a hand through her hair while clearing her throat. "God, you're so cheesy."

"And you love it, I know you do."

Humming and rolling her eyes, Regina decided to end the subject by giving him a soft peck.

"As for this friend of yours, I say you should call her. I mean not necessarily to invite her to the wedding but just… to reconnect."

Licking her lips and letting her mouth curve into a reluctant smile, the pregnant woman shook her head. "No, I don't think so. What would I say anyway? Hey, sorry I never called, but did you hear I got into a plane crash, made it to a deserted Island where I got knocked up by my then auditor? Yeah because that sounds like the perfect way to get back in touch."

"Well it's not like you have to be so brutally detailed about what you have been up to, I mean not like you just said it. There's small talk… she's your friend, isn't she? So there must be plenty of things to catch up to."

She wrinkled her nose, remembering the woman from her college days and wondering how it was that they somehow lost touch. Yes, it was partly because the other woman just moved overseas and all that, but even though, after Daniel and after she went back to town, they always keep some kind of communication until one day they just didn't.

"I don't know. It's kind of weird."

"Don't think too much on it. I mean you do need someone to talk to every once and then other than me. I mean… you need to brag about the extremely handsome, smart and funny husband you're going to get."

"Oh shut up."

Chewing on the corner of his lips, he lowered his eyes for a second. "Let's make a deal. If you talk to this friend of yours, tonight I'll treat you real, real nice."

Arching an eyebrow at the low undertones of his voice as she once again started feeling that fluttering sensation that would come and go into her groin, Regina hummed. "How nice?"

"Well, it involves candles and slow music, nothing that would wake the boys of course, then I'll run you a warm bath and… help you clean up, then I'll give you a full body massage. There's not going to be an inch of skin that won't be nicely treated."

Sold to the idea of his hands all over her as he massaged her all through, Regina narrowed her eyes. "Will this massage have a happy ending?"

He leaned forward until he was so close she was sure he was going to kiss her. "Yes, a very happy one, hopefully several. I'll use my tongue as well as my hands to make sure of it."

"Oh you better."

Closing the distance that separated them, he kissed her, going at it for more than a few seconds before pulling away. "I'll see you tonight then."

"You will." Biting on her lips, she saw him get to his feet and walk out the door. Then, before closing the wooden barrier, he sent a wink her way and smiled.

Shaking her head and smiling a big smile, Regina opened one of her desk's drawers and started searching for an old black notebook where she kept all her contacts in case technology would fail her.

She found the name she was looking for quickly enough and then, using the phone in her desk she dialed the number.

It rang three times before someone picked at the other side.

"Allô"

Closing her eyes and blowing out a breath as soon as she recognized the voice, Regina pushed her back into the chair.

She wouldn't know how to say it but contacting the woman was like going in a journey to the past. She has been another person back then, happy even… and well, even though she has spent some obscure years she could say that yes, she was back at being happy so it made sense she would be contacting this old friend.

"Hey, It's Regina… Mills."

With her eyes closed, she heard the woman gasp before bursting out a laugh. "Well I'll be damned to hell. Oh my God, Regina, where the hell have you been?"

At the question, Regina opened her eyes and she couldn't help but to laugh as well. "Well… Mal, I've been kind of busy…"


	38. Chapter 38

"_When I first met you, I had no… idea that you were not only going to change my life, but that you were also going to give a whole new meaning to it. I… didn't know… that you were going to be my strength… my rock and the light that would get me through the darkest of my days so I could emerge at the other side as a better person. But I know now, as I know that there's nothing I would change about what we've lived as it all lead me to be right here with you now. We've been… through so much… and you've showed to me nothing but love, patience… a lot of patience actually, and for that I will be forever grateful… for picking me up when I thought I couldn't get back on my feet, for letting me dream again… and for being the best man I could ever hope for. That's why today I stand here, before you, with the promise that I'll spend the rest of my life… giving everything you've given me back. My unconditional love, my trust and respect and everything that I am..."_

Blinking her eyes slowly open as the memory of the moment she said those words bounced insistently all through her skull, Regina Mills couldn't help but to feel as emotional as she did the moment she said them out loud.

It wasn't in her, she couldn't control it, and as she stood still with the salty breeze taking over the night swirling carelessly all around her, she breathed deeply into the air as her hand lifted up to her face so that she could make her fingers wipe lightly the moistened corner of her eye.

Now… as a rule, the dark haired woman wouldn't say she was overly emotive, no… she was most often level headed and both her feet were always in the ground, but earlier on she has been an emotional wreck; eyes tearing up, her voice cracking every few words and her heart beating so hard into her ribcage she has been sure her chest would crack open with the force of it.

What could she say? It has been a moment out of the ordinary and well, she was pregnant, so her hormones probably played a part on her being so wimpy.

Whatever it was, the thing was that she did it, she was able to say her wedding vows, to pour her heart out and yes, she survived basically unscratched.

There were a few tears and maybe a lot of deep breaths, but she managed.

Scoffing at the relief she felt washing over her after having to go through that, the brunette lifted her chin a bit higher so that she could take on the panorama displaying before her eyes.

It was a beautiful night, the sky, a black canvas over her head was dotted with what seemed like millions of shimmering stars illuminating in unison everything they touched and the pale moonlight reflecting onto the immense ocean extending into the horizon made it all seem mystical, maybe even surreal.

Or maybe the magical aspect of it all was all in her head because yes, what stood in front of her was just the ocean and what she had above a very common night sky, exactly like the ones she spent long days staring at while waiting to be rescued from the Island.

But because in that moment she felt as if she was in a dream, floating over the clouds as she moved swiftly through the skies, it all seemed more… beautiful.

Unable to help it, the shadow of a smile broke out of her lips as she remembered why she was feeling so dippy. It was because of the evening she had, she basically just married the man that came into her life breaking every barrier she has put between herself and the rest of the world and that just made her feel as she has never felt before.

Secure, happy and very much loved.

She has even come to enjoy the ceremony, trembling mess and all, and yes, even when she has believed the whole thing would bring her more stress than joy, she had to admit that everything turned out to be more than perfect.

The setting was beautiful, Belle has done an amazing thing with the little time they had to prepare, the boys were beyond hyped and Robin has been just perfect.

If she wanted to she could even picture him in her mind as he stood waiting for her to join him, handsome as ever and looking at her with the full intensity of those stunning eyes of his as she made her way to him.

That was exactly when she started to feel like she was living in a dream, when she spent the entire walk staring into the blue of his stare, reading out of them a thousand things he wanted to say…

"_I didn't just fall in love with you, Regina, I walked right into loving you; eyes wide open and choosing to take every step along the way..."_

And he did say them, in his vows just like she has done.

"Why did I figure you would be here?"

Feeling the corner of her mouth curving into a smile as the familiar voice came to disrupt her thoughts, the brown-eyed woman kept her face towards the ocean and remained standing still, the water caressing her feet as gentle as a lover's kiss.

"I can't believe you made me marry you at the beach." Regina said as she felt him approach, a hint of amusement taking over her tone.

"Well. You see, considering how most of our important moments happened near the ocean, I thought marrying here was the most ideal." Robin said that standing right behind her and wrapping an arm around her midsection. "First kiss, first… actually first everything that lead to us making this baby right here."

At the contact of his hands on her, Regina threw her head back against him and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his fingers brushing over her growing stomach.

"Yeah, that was because we were stuck in that island. With nothing but beach and sand… and those nasty lizards."

Puffing out a breath, Robin kissed her shoulder, his lips brushing her skin ever so lightly. The contact was a tender one, slowly moving to the back of her neck and sighing contently, she placed her hands on top of his.

"If it wasn't for that Island, I wouldn't have been able to do this, to make you my wife because let's face it, in Storybrooke you never would have given me the chance to get close to you."

Knowing that he was right, Regina hummed. Before the whole thing with the plane crash and the Island, Robin has been her auditor and the Regina she has been in those days would have never approved getting close to the man.

It was a matter of principle and professionalism, things that ranged on top of most things back then. She also hadn't like him much. She has been extremely territorial since he walked into her office so no, the thought that they would end like this never crossed her mind.

"No, I wouldn't. But I also don't think you would have wanted that chance if it wasn't because of the Island. I was a total bitch to you when we worked together. Even after we came back so I still don't get why you decided to stick around."

"Because I was head over heels over you. I still am. There's not a single day I hadn't considered myself lucky to have you open up your heart to me; bitchy attitude and all."

A humorless snort broke past her lips and she lowered her head down, her hair escaping from its place behind her ears and moving forward with her so that the breeze could swirl the locks all around.

"I am the lucky one." She whispered, breaking the spell so she could turn around to face him. And as she said that, her hands moved to cradle his face, her fingers tracing his cheeks and lips before moving down to his jaw. "I know I don't say this enough or at all, but you're perfect."

Robin snorted, but before he could say anything in response, Regina guided his face towards her and kissed him full on the mouth.

It was a brief peck that lasted too little, but she made sure to stay close to him once she broke apart.

"If we're going to throw the perfect label around then let's put it where it belongs." He hissed against her lips. "You looked perfect in that dress today, totally breathtaking."

Her eyes rolled at that; she already told him how out of place she has felt in a wedding dress and a baby bump and he didn't take seriously, because according to him she looked stunning.

Now yes, it wasn't like she thought she looked bad because she has gone out of her way to look her best head to toe; from her hair and make-up to her shoes and accessories, but still… she couldn't help but to feel a bit odd.

His response to her feeling that way? Besides reassuring her about how much he liked her in her dress, he took care of the situation by slowly removing her clothes once alone, marveling on every inch of her newly exposed body as if he has never seen it or felt it before.

He has taken his time, and then with the pace of those who had nowhere else they would rather be, he made sure to claim her for the first time as his wife.

"That isn't just me talking, everyone thought you looked stunningly beautiful today."

"Everyone as in the kids and you?" She asked with a hint of amusement because those three had gone out of their way to tell her how pretty she looked over and over again.

"And your friend, and Belle… Little John and Ruby too as did Mary Margaret and David."

Groaning because yes, that reminded her how their guess list has exceeded a little what she would have preferred, Regina closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to his.

"Which reminds me; before you arrived to the ceremony, Roland had the brilliant idea of telling your friend Mal _and_ everyone who happened to be within hearing distance that I put a baby in your belly with my penis, and yes, those were his exact words."

Letting out a dry chuckle, Regina opened her eyes to look at him right in the eye. "You're kidding."

Sucking the inside of his cheek into his mouth, Robin shook his head no. "I wish I was, because that was quite embarrassing, you know, considering Henry turned red as a tomato and well, that your friend seemed to find my son blurting that out rather amusing. It's a miracle you didn't hear her laughing all the way to the back. Or Henry groaning for that matter."

Scoffing at the thought of Roland's lively personality, Regina bit on her lips. She could picture Mal laughing like that at the boy's words so what Robin said didn't surprise her. The woman has always been a bit boisterous and it seemed she hasn't changed much since she met her years ago; which was a refreshing thing to find out as her presence helped her loosen up on her nerves a little. As for Henry… what could she say? Roland hadn't been lying…

"That kid of mine… he's a riot. Your friend doesn't seem very different though. She's rowdy."

Scrunching her nose as she momentarily went back in memory lane to remember a few times back in the day when she got in trouble because of Mal, Regina chuckled.

"She is, especially when she drinks too much. You know what, now that I think about it I'm pretty sure the first time I got drunk was because of her. I was definitely underage so let's keep that between us."

At her revelation, Robin's eyebrows shot up, but as he set his eyes on hers he took a moment to put her hair back behind her ears. "Really? Well she has advantage over me because you, Madam Mayor, still owe me a drink."

Narrowing her eyes, the new bride lifted her chin up an inch. "Maybe if you hadn't knocked me up so soon, then maybe that debt would have been paid up long ago."

Robin laughed heartily at that, the sound loud and clear taking over the solitude of the beach. It made Regina look at him almost in awe.

"Well maybe if you wouldn't have encouraged me not to pull out, I wouldn't have gotten you with child."

At his easy going tone, Regina snickered. "I didn't encourage you to do that." Or maybe she did, but it was because she has been sure there wouldn't be any consequences to it.

She has been wrong, obviously, but she hadn't known.

"Yes you did, there's nothing about that night I have forgotten so trust me on this one." Moving his eyes down her body blatantly, he licked his lips. "I thought that was bloody hot you know, letting me cum in you like that. I think that night was probably my favorite memory of you in the island."

Grabbing the edge of his shirt and pulling it lightly, Regina hummed. "Because I was naked and all over you instead of uptight and neurotic?"

"No. Because you were carefree… even relax. And no, it didn't hurt that you were naked either because I liked that part very much; same as touching you and getting to feel you at your rawest."

Parting her lips and then scoffing, Regina lowered her eyes for a second. She remembered that night pretty well too, it has been their first time after all and it has been the night where she lost all inhibitions with him so it wasn't like she could forget so easily. "Well, I was very turned on so…"

"There's nothing to regret or explain about that night; we both wanted it, we had a very, very nice time and I got to… well make a little princess for you, my Queen."

Biting down a laugh, Regina playfully hit his chest. "God, you're so cheesy."

"And you love me for it."

Nodding in agreement and deciding she didn't want to talk anymore, Regina leaned closer to him and kissed him again, this time nibbling at his lips until she found a way in.

He rewarded her efforts by kissing her back, their tongues fusing together for several seconds before they finally broke apart.

"Why don't we go back to the room? There are still some things I want to do to my lovely wife up there… while she's naked."

His tone was playful, even alluring and as he said that, his hands traveled down her spine until they settled down on her ass to press her closer to him.

The movement made her feel that she was also enjoying the moment a bit too much as she could feel him half hard against her hip.

Swallowing down at the promise of him, Regina looked into his eyes. Just with his closeness and the feeling of his hands on her she could feel a new heated rush take residence on her lower stomach and wanting to appease it, she kissed him again.

They did that for a while, slow and deep, tongues engaged in a slow duel that promised no real winner. The way he kissed her made her want to melt against him, to push her body so close to him that it would be difficult for an outsider to tell them apart.

To that day she still couldn't quite get how he was able to make her feel like that so easily, how it was that no matter how many times she would indulge into him, he always made her crave for more.

Take that night for example, earlier during that day, after the wedding was done and they were left alone to enjoy each other, the two of them had languidly made love in their room. It has been the whole romantic honeymoon setting where they gave completely into each other and yes, she was left satisfied; but now that he was there so close and kissing her so deep, her desire for him started to pick up once again.

It settled warmly between her legs, urging her to do something about the sweet ache.

"What if we stay here?" She asked, her voice a raspy whisper that got lost in the wind.

"Out here?" He asked back, his hands kneading her flesh to make her press even more into him. As a response, she just nodded before crashing her mouth back to his, her fingers roaming down his shoulders and to the muscles of his arms.

It was as they kissed that he slid both hands underneath the summer dress she was wearing so that he could touch her the same way but without the inconvenience of the fabric getting on his way.

"You walked down here without your panties on?" He asked without really pulling far from her, his fingers taking on the feeling of her bare flesh.

There was a sly smirk on his face as he asked, and smirking back, she shrugged. "Well… I was feeling hot. You know, crazy pregnant hormones. Sometimes they make me feel all hot and bothered."

Robin chuckled, his eyes bright as he stared at her curiously. "Is that so?"

Humming, she lifted her shoulders innocently and just like that, he was kissing her again.

He did that harder this time, swirling straight into her mouth, a sweet urgency to explore all around taking over him. She did the same, and when his hands grabbed all the flesh of her ass that could fit into his palms to make her grind against him, Regina let a strangled moan escape into the kiss.

It felt good, he felt good and as the kiss kept on and on her hands flew to the nape of his neck, her fingers getting lost deep into his soft hair.

Breaking apart from the kiss but staying close to his mouth, Regina lowered one of her hands down his body and sneaked it straight to the bulge forming there, her fingers taking him prisoner in their hold. "We could stay here a while… just for old time's sake."

Giving her space to work him up, Robin looked down to what she was doing. "Seems like someone's a little eager, isn't she?" He mumbled, his own fingers getting to work by moving underneath her dress so he could keep touching her flesh to flesh, squeezing her and pressing her to him even harder.

Regina smiled, biting on her lips. He couldn't talk about being eager since she could feel him hard as a rock in her hand as she stroked him; but wanting to play her cards well she just licked her lips and breathed out.

"It's your fault, or maybe it's that the whole beach vibes have me thinking of that first time. Of how much I wanted you… how good you made me feel."

Robin tilted his head up, amused, his own tongue peeking out to poke against his lip. "Regina, that mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day."

"Hmm you promise?" She asked but she didn't give him time to answer. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she leaned into him and kissed him again, one hand stroking him to his fullest and the other holding his head to hers.

He didn't seem to mind and he reassumed the business of kissing her, even going as far as taking control of things until he was stealing the breath out of her lungs. She didn't mind and she matched the intensity of his kiss, her body itching to get more out of him than that lip lock.

For a while they kept at it, kissing each other senseless until she began to fumble with his pants. That was the moment he decided to pull away.

"This is a public beach, you know that, right? We are not in the Island." He said that breathless as his eyes related to her the tale of his desire.

It was a very promising tale and she couldn't deny it, whatever the circumstances, the thing was that she wanted him, right there, right now.

It was maybe her hormones talking to her again, she wasn't sure but it felt like he was what she needed in that moment.

"But there's no one around." She whispered as a matter of fact. It was basically a public beach, true, but there was nobody to be seen and besides, it was already nightfall so they could easily take cover in the darkness.

"You are not wrong in that one. But…."

Regina arched an eyebrow. "Okay, you are right; this is a public place so we need to hurry. Come on."

With that said, she moved her hold from his erection to his hand and turned around, meaning to guide him right into the ocean where she wanted him to relieve the sudden urge of him she was having.

But Robin didn't move, and when she was going to turn around to ask him what was wrong he held her hips still and prevented her from moving.

"What?" She asked, felling him press his hard on against her as he kissed her just behind her ear.

"What's the hurry if there's no one around? You really want me to fuck you right here?"

Feeling her skin turn into gooseflesh at the low tone he used to ask her that, Regina nodded, fixing her eyes into the water. "Yes, that's what I want."

And she did, she felt like she wanted him so bad and she didn't want to wait until they got back to their room. It didn't even have to be like a long session, she could settle with something quick and hard that could satiate her need.

"Alright, then… get down on your hands and knees so I can give you what you want." He commanded in a even lower dark tone that made her tremble slightly in anticipation.

She liked that facet of him, to see him so in control. It was something she wouldn't admit freely, but having him whispering into her ear what he was going to do to her really turned her on more than she already was so without thinking it twice she did as she was told.

Feeling eager over the possibilities of what they were about to do, Regina went down, biting hard on her lips as she felt him pushing her dress up to her waist before lowering himself, and kneeling right behind her.

It was almost obscene, because sometime when she wasn't looking he released his erection from his shorts and now she could feel him poking her entrance as his hands held her hips in place.

Rubbing against her, Robin breathed out. "You sure? Because I don't want you to blame me if we somehow end up arrested."

Wanting for it to happen right in that moment, Regina pushed hard against him and groaned out loud when she realized the angle was so wrong. "Yes, I want you… now." She whimpered, closing her eyes as her fingers disappeared into the wet sand.

Robin sucked in a breath, sliding his hand down to her crotch, his fingers rubbing her teasingly for a few seconds. Once there, he took position and before her mind could grasp it he pushed his way deep inside of her.

At the invasion, the pregnant woman emitted a low raspy moan that sounded too raw to her own ears. She just couldn't help it, it was true that his abruptness didn't hurt but he has been a little rough. She let it pass, trying to focus instead on the sweet sensation of his hard member taking residence deep inside of her.

"Does it feel good?" She asked in a low purr, her eyes opening up to take a look around.

There was no one that she could see, but who knew? There could be any one lurking around, watching him rock into her as his hands roamed from her hips to her ass.

The thought that there could be someone watching them made her feel wanton and she bit hard on her lips, throwing her head back and meeting his trust with a push of her own.

"Yeah I like it." He grumbled, moving one of his hands up to grab her hair.

Moaning, Regina lifted her ass and fell victim of his rhythm, a few small pebbles in the sand encrusting themselves into her knees. She didn't care, her mind was too engrossed on Robin's hand sliding to her stomach and then lower to her groin so he could touch her in her special spot, his thumb applying the most exquisite pressure against it as it slowly started to circle around it.

The combination of sensations was overwhelming; his finger working on her, the very essence of his manhood throbbing within her and the breeze caressing her skin with its softness. It was actually more than she was expecting of the encounter.

"So good… I love it." She said, her voice cracking down and lowering a notch or two. But she wanted more, so pushing her ass to him, she turned her face to the side and searched for his lips.

The kiss wasn't the best in execution, the angle of her face wasn't the most ideal but it worked just fine with them. Their lips meet, she pushed her tongue into his mouth and he reciprocated by pushing back into hers.

He held her head close, his fingers entangled in her hair as he kissed into his mouth the low moans she was muttering.

Then, without diminishing his pace, he used his other hand and flickered his thumb around her clit and that was it for her; feeling as if all the bones of her body disappeared out of thin air she felt the force of an orgasm washing through her. She growled out loud, and if it wasn't because he was holding her she would have stumbled face first into the water.

"You liked that, uh?" He said, his voice high and breathless. "Was that what you were looking for?""

Regina nodded, at that point she would have agreed to anything he said. "Yes, I wanted to feel you-" She mumbled, stopping for a second to swallow down and catch on her breath. "I wanted to feel you like this."

"You wanted my cock in you. Couldn't wait for it?"

She gasped, the movements of her head a bit restricted because he tightened the hold on her hair a bit.

"Didn't want to wait..."

"Then take it." With that said he grabbed her hips with both hands and pushed into her as far as he could go. Getting into a wild frenzy, Robin started to move with hard thrusts that made her body rock back and forth.

He was close, she could feel it, so wanting to take him to the edge she settled her knees and hands as firm as she could and pushed back into him.

The result was immediate, she felt him shudder and groan as the all too familiar warmness of his seed sprouted deep into her.

"Oh shit… shit." He panted and before he could finish, Regina reached back and grabbed him.

That way, keeping him where she wanted him, Regina felt him give the last throbs into her as he let out pass his lips a series of low growls that stirred in her a new wave of desire.

When he was done, he molded his body to her back and breathed out, and still, he remained inside of her.

"Did you like that?" She asked with a devious smile, knowing full well that his answer was going to be a rotund yes.

"Oh yeah." He said as he pulled out of her, and once he slid out she felt him pouring a small amount of water over her lower back and buttocks, probably cleaning her off his cum. "I'm these hormonal changes of yours very interesting."

"Mmmm, I know. I still feel all bothered… hot too."

Turning around so she could face him, Regina bit lightly on her lips and eyed him over. He looked to die for; his face was flushed, his lips were parted and his eyes still held a feral glint on them that she liked. Looking at him like that only made her want to reach for him and kiss him.

And she did, she kissed him with all the passion she still had, pulling him to her so that his body could rest against her as the warm water of the ocean washed all around her.

It felt nice, and as they kissed, he pushed back into her and she parted her legs to accommodate his weight between them, ready to receive him once again if the moment arose to it.

"Regina," He mumbled into the kiss. "See what you've done? Your dress is all wet… my clothes too."

Scoffing, she pushed her hips off the sand and into him, and according to what she was feeling he was liking this. She could feel him stirring back to life as she pressed her naked crotch into his. "We'll take them off, we're on our honeymoon so it wasn't like I was planning on being dressed all the time."

"Oh really?" He asked, pulling apart from her the slightest bit so he could take a good look at her face. "Then I'll have to say that you are a little temptress."

Rotating her hips and parting her legs wider, Regina lifted her face to him and slowly ran her tongue underneath his jaw. "And you don't like it, right?"

Robin showed her his patented dimple smile and she licked her lips, loving the new feeling of the length of his erection cradled into her folds. He was half erect now and in her mind that was good enough for her, she wanted him back in.

"God I want you so bad… and I love you so much."

"I love you too." With that said, he was back inside of her; neither of them caring about anything else as they began another dance that got them closer and closer to their happy ending…

FIN


End file.
